Sean Wilson's debut novel is an intimate portrait of a family living in regional Australia, shaped by alcoholism, silence and the slow erosion of memory.

Wilson explores the habits passed between generations, the things families refuse to name, and the way love persists despite neglect, resentment and grief. The novel moves with a quiet, observational precision that recalls writers like Elizabeth Strout or Kent Haruf, while remaining distinctly Australian in its landscape and social textures.

At its centre is Grace, navigating a family history where addiction has become almost environmental, woven into daily rituals and inherited behaviours. Wilson writes with remarkable restraint, allowing emotional force to emerge through gesture, dialogue and repetition rather than melodrama. Memory becomes both subject and structure, asking how much of ourselves is inherited, how much is forgotten, and whether remembering is always a form of healing. A thoughtful, deeply humane novel that was warmly received on publication and has quickly established itself as one of the stronger recent Australian literary debuts.

2025 Affirm Press hardcover. Very light shelf wear to the boards with a clean, crisp interior in excellent condition.