Linked by Tragedy

In Carol Anshaw's Carry the One, a group of friends and siblings are linked by a tragedy on one summer's night in their youth. As this group is leaving a wedding in the country, sleepy,drunk and stoned, they hit and kill a young girl who appears out of nowhere. The book follows the group for twenty-five years and how their lives are profoundly affected by this shared experience. The strength of this novel is the quality of the writing,funny,profane and most of all thoughtful. Her power of language is evident in the title; as one of the characters thinks,“When you add us up, you always have to carry the one.” ML