Last Winter

By: Carrie Mac

Narrated by: Victoria Carr

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER

As gripping and unforgettable as Fredrik Backman's Bear Town and Kristin Hannah's The Great Alone, this haunting novel digs into the impact of a fatal avalanche on a small BC mountain town, as seen through the eyes of those who survive the tragedy.

"Heart-rending and heart-stopping."—Alix Ohlin, author of Dual Citizens

"...lays bare the truths of mental illness...epically unforgettable."—Jen Sookfong Lee, author of Superfan

"Deeply raw...Insightful and unsparing, this is an important book."—Zoe Whittall, author of The Best Kind of People

Content Note: this is an important book and a powerful depiction of extreme Bipolar disorder. It deals with sensitive subject matter, and we encourage listeners to take care of themselves and their mental health while listening.

Last Winter is the story of a child who might not survive the heartbreak of her father’s death and a mother who struggles to both parent and manage her grief in the grips of a Bipolar crisis.

Fiona and Gus’s marriage has veered off course. Fiona’s mental health is shaky at best, and is now further strained under the weight of a transgression that she would like to both forget and repeat. Gus, a pro snowboarder turned backcountry guide, is exhausted by Fiona's mood swings and her ambivalence about their relationship, but mostly by the impact of her erratic behaviour on their eight-year-old daughter, Ruby. Ruby loves them both, but has a much closer relationship with her father, and has stopped talking in the face of the tensions between her parents.

In the midst of this marital crisis, Gus takes Ruby’s class on an overnight trip into the wilderness, where Ruby is one of only two children to survive the avalanche that kills the others, including her beloved father. While Fiona’s mental health is unravelled further by grief, Ruby is flattened by Gus’s loss. After the search ends with no sign of her father, Ruby is determined to find him herself, using the survival skills he taught her and believing that he must still be alive. Her trek back into the snow sets off events that stretches her own resourcefulness and her mother's fragile coping skills to the breaking point.

Atmospheric and deftly told with an economy of words and a finely tuned gaze on the small moments that build up to an inexorable and shocking end, Last Winter is a contemporary drama that will grip listeners both for the story and for the vibrant portrayal of the complexities of family life.

©2023 Carrie Mac (P)2023 Random House Canada

Critic reviews

"Last Winter is an emotional tour de force, a novel that is unafraid to examine the most difficult moments in one family’s life, and lays bare the truths of mental illness. By turns heartbreaking and breathtaking, Last Winter is a powerful novel that is epically unforgettable."—Jen Sookfong Lee, author of Superfan and The Conjoined

"Heart-rending and heart-stopping, Carrie Mac's Last Winter spirals around an unthinkable event. With great empathy and gorgeous prose, she knits together a community's loss and a family's journey through the wilderness of grief. This is a beautiful novel that will linger in your mind long after the final page."—Alix Ohlin, author of We Want What We Want and Dual Citizens

"Last Winter is absolutely riveting, both a page-turner and deeply raw story of a community grieving, and the impact of untreated mental illness on parenting and a marriage. Insightful and unsparing, this is an important book."—Zoe Whittall, author of The Spectacular and The Best Kind of People