Standing at the edge of a subway platform, Nathan is doing his best to make it look like he’s waiting for a train. He’s swirling his head in precise shapes—not dancing, but protecting the word genius from being corrupted in his mind. It’s just another evening in his exhausting search for certainty.

An acting student at NYU, Nathan knows that embracing creative uncertainty is essential to his craft—but inside, he’s unraveling. Each morning, he spends hours shaking dust from his clothes, terrified a single speck will destroy the sidewalk. He transfers the “world’s energy” from his left shoulder to his bedroom wall—a private ritual meant to make himself worthy of friendship.

Set against the ferocious and magnificent New York City, Path Illogical is a raw, intimate memoir—not about insanity, but about the danger of believing every thought, and the fine line between brilliance and dysfunction.

When Nathan finally arrives at McLean Hospital, the question becomes: Can he live with life’s unknowns, or will OCD sink its teeth into him for good?