Not Alone

IN A DYING WORLD, HOW FAR WILL A MOTHER GO TO SAVE HER CHILD?'Not Alone kept me breathless with tension.' - Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of Room'Intensely moving, genuinely gripping, plausible and absorbing' - Charlotte Mendelson, author of The ExhibitionistFive years ago, a toxic microplastics storm killed most of the population. Now Katie, a young mother, must forage and hunt the few surviving animals for meat as she attempts to feed her little boy, Harry.At a time when stepping outside could kill you, Harry is kept indoors at all costs, never venturing beyond the door to their one-bedroom flat. The bodies begin to build up around them and layers of poisonous dust hang heavily in the air, seeping into the soil and slowly killing anything attempting to cling onto the natural world.Then, after years without human contact, Katie and Harry are terrified by the unwelcome arrival of another survivor. Katie realises she must undertake a previously unthinkable journey in search of the man she was supposed to marry and a new life for her son.But outside their safe haven, Katie and Harry encounter a dangerous world that is forever changed . . .

Not Alone kept me breathless with tension. An outstandingly credible and gripping adventure story, rooted in a deep understanding of both ecology and family., Intensely moving, genuinely gripping, plausible and absorbing; this is a stunningly debut by a truly talented new writer, The emotionally wrenching story of a young mother’s fight to save her young son as they struggle across a toxic and hostile world. The tension never lets up. Utterly believable, always compelling, and deeply moving. I loved it., A gutwrenching, whiteknuckle postapocalyptic thriller, a story of love and perseverance., Harrowing and achingly human, Not Alone is a sharp exploration of environmental apocalypse — and a celebration of pure, boundless love that can survive anything. This triumphant debut finds hope in the darkest places, and it made me want to be a better person.

Sarah K. Jackson is an ecologist specializing in botany, and has a keen interest in human–wildlife coexistence, conservation, climate change and microplastics pollution. Her job has taken her all around the UK, scrambling through woodland, paddling up rivers, squelching through mountain bogs, and also sometimes overseas. She studied Psychology and Criminology at Cardiff University, before doing a Masters in Conservation Ecology at Oxford Brookes University.