Mantis Dreams: The Journal of Dr. Dexter Ripley is a crackling, searing satire that ridicules both political correctness and the restrictive world of academia. But Adam Pottle’s first novel is also a poignant and difficult glance into the world of a man battling a rare and debilitating disease. A wheelchair user living voluntarily in a care home, Dexter Ripley lashes out at all those around him—his behaviour so outrageous yet insightful that Ripley is curiously both repelling and fascinating. With a boisterous, propulsive voice, Dexter Ripley shares his insights on life as a care home resident, his relationships with his sister and her son, his career as a professor, and, despite his bitter nature, his goal of creating a philosophy based on positivity and imagination. Through the voice of this embittered man, Pottle creates a treatise that views disability as a philosophical position rather than a physical or mental condition.

Born Deaf and raised in a hearing family, Adam Pottle is the award-winning author of works in multiple genres, including the acclaimed writing memoir Voice and the horror novel Apparitions. His plays include the groundbreaking works Ultrasound and The Black Drum; he was the 2021–22 writer-in-residence at Sheridan College and a 2022 Warner Bros. Discovery Access screenwriting fellow. When not writing, he can be found at the boxing gym, the library, or the park with his wife Deborah and their goldendoodle Valkyrie. He lives in Saskatoon.

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