When Everything Falls Apart

"An impressive achievement. Much more than a cautionary tale or a back-to-the-land parable, Simon Heath's trilogy of novels is foremost a warm, generous meditation on an abiding truth underpinning individual lives and societies alike. Always, there are challenges and upsets; always, love, family, and community sees us through the worst of it, and shows us the best."
—Charles Foran, author of Mordecai and Planet Lolita

"When Everything Falls Apart is a hyper-realistic account of ordinary people caught in a world without power, and a handbook for survival in an all-too-believable future. It's also a hell of a good read."
—Brent Preston, author of The New Farm: Our Ten Years on the Front Lines of the Good Food Revolution

Brian and Karen are in the midst of mid-life crises, their marriage falling apart, the things that used to drive them suddenly without meaning. It’s a bad time for a second pregnancy. And then the power goes out. And stays out. When a massive solar flare knocks out the world’s electric grids, Brian, an extremely pregnant Karen and their 8 year-old daughter Robin find themselves in the middle of a city that is wholly unprepared for an emergency of this magnitude. They decide to move to their off-grid house north of Toronto, but when their car is stolen they must decide between trying to survive in an increasingly desperate city or find their way out by other means. When Everything Falls Apart is the story of a family’s epic journey and their struggle to find each other along the way.