Maková pole – Erlick Nikki (2026)

This Czech-language novel is set at a remote clinic in the desert of Southern California that specializes in a single form of therapy: healing sleep for people mourning the loss of loved ones. The clinic is called Poppy Fields. Few people escape painful loss in life or remain untouched by the devastation of grief, the feeling that everything has lost its meaning and that they have no strength left to go on. But science never rests, and research moves relentlessly forward, so here is the solution. After applying and being approved as a suitable candidate, you put on red pyjamas and lie down in a bed at Poppy Fields, where you sleep for one or two months. When you wake up, the acute phase of mourning is behind you. You feel lighter and life goes on, unless you happen to be among those unfortunate enough to suffer a side effect. The novel raises many questions, including whether such a “cure” for grief caused by loss is desirable, whether it is enough simply to sleep through the worst and move on, and whether this sometimes comes at the cost of erasing your feelings for the deceased. Although none of us wants to experience such pain, what if it has an irreplaceable place in our lives?