A Novel
"This beautiful, brave, and liberating book is a triumph of the spirit. Engrossing and exquisitely written, it shines with rare courage and a tender, life-saving wisdom that comes only through facing the darkness we suffer or inflict on others. It is a marvelous story whose characters I am glad to have in my life."
Joanna Macy
Author, World as Lover, World as Self
"Allan Johnson's writing is moving, insightful, and deeply human. He takes us inside painful lives with courageous truth-telling, yet at the same time takes us inside of characters who can heal and thrive. This is a novel that rings true, and that we need urgently to take into our hearts."
Lundy Bancroft
Author, Why Does He Do That?
"Allan Johnson's illumination of the mind of a woman recovering from horrific abuse and loss is miraculous, carried by a story that is both gripping and inspiring. It is a stunning achievement."
Jean Kilbourne
Creator, the award-winning film series, Killing Us Softly
"The First Thing and the Last portrays an extraordinary woman who is brutalized – but the abuse becomes her sorrow and not her identity in Allan Johnson's complex, masterful, and exacting understanding of such a woman's life. His ability and willingness to see so deeply, to portray a woman and her story so profoundly, takes our breath away. Welcome this extraordinary and most original novelist to the ranks of American literature."
Deena Metzger
Poet, novelist, and author of Writing for Your Life
In the middle of a horrific night, Katherine Stuart barely escapes being murdered by her abusive husband in the kitchen of their suburban Boston home. In the aftermath of utter loss and devastation, Katherine is sought out by Lucy Dudley, an elderly woman living on a family farm in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, who reads about Katherine in the news and is drawn to her by a closely guarded history of her own. Katherine, unable to bear the accusing eyes of her family, accepts Lucy's invitation to come to Vermont, setting in motion a deepening relationship between the two women that frames a universal struggle to heal and reclaim what severe trauma takes from people's lives. The First Thing and the Last is an inspiring, heartbreaking story of the resilience of the human spirit.
Over a period of nine years, The First Thing and the Last was rejected almost sixty times by commercial publishers, many of whom openly acknowledged their unwillingness to publish a novel that tells the truth about domestic violence, no matter how compelling the story or how well it is told. Three senior editors took it to their editorial boards, but were turned down because of concerns about how to make a commercial success of a novel that realistically portrays domestic violence. One editor was overruled by the publisher who declared, "I don’t know why a woman would stay with a man who beats her up." Another editor, after being turned down by the editorial board, wrote, "I think Johnson’s writing is remarkable and the story he tells is compulsively readable. I loved both Katherine and Lucy, and felt they were both brought completely and convincingly to life. Everyone admired the quality of the writing, and everyone agreed this is a novel that deserves to be published. I genuinely hope you find someone who is brave enough to take it on."
Which turned out to be the independent literary publisher, Plain View Press.
The First Thing and the Last will be published in February, 2010.
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Cover Art: "Clouds over Death Valley," pastel by Karen Jones.