High Clear Bell of Morning

Ruby is diagnosed with schizophrenia and her treatment goes awry when she meets a drug dealer in group therapy. He introduces her drugs, and within a short space of time she is ready to do almost anything for a high. Unwilling to let her go, her father, Glen, follows Ruby through the streets, catching glimpses of her horror-filled world. Desperate to comprehend her illness, he finds parallels between Ruby and his job as a marine biologist. In a struggle to get his daughter back, Glen commits an unthinkable act that could cause him to lose everything else that has ever mattered to him.

Elegantly told and affecting, High Clear Bell of Morning illustrates the strain on families facing mental illnesses, and draws attention to the inadequate system that is meant to help. At the same time, it celebrates the natural world and sends a cautionary warning of what we all have to lose.

Ann Eriksson is the author of three previous novels: Decomposing Maggie (Turnstone, 2003), In the Hands of Anubis (Brindle & Glass, 2009) and Falling From Grace (Brindle & Glass, 2011), which was awarded a Silver medal in the 2011 Independent Publishers Book Awards. Eriksson is a founding director of the Thetis Island Nature Conservancy. She lives on Thetis Island, British Columbia, with her husband, poet Gary Geddes.