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What the living do

Sex and death consume much of thirty-seven-year-old Brett Catlin’ s life. Cole, ten years her junior, takes care of the former while her job disposing of roadkill addresses the latter. A cancer diagnosis causes her to question her worth, suspecting the illness is payback for the deaths of her father and sister.

Thus begins a challenging journey of alternative healing that she doubts she deserves. Just as Brett surrenders to the prescribed cure, a startling discovery sends her on a more profound exploration of cause and effect. Encounters with animals, both living and dead, help her answer the question: who is worth saving?

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What Other Authors Say

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Jennifer Manuel, author

"Masterfully, Susan Wadds entices readers with her stunning prose across a rich, complex emotional topography. What the Living Do is a brilliantly crafted portrait of a woman grappling with her demons and the challenges she must overcome to find hope, healing, and redemption. An incredible debut, this novel is moving and unforgettable and will resonate in your soul long after the final page."

Alissa York, author

"Susan Wadds has written a fierce and fearless novel about a woman drawn to self-destruction yet desperate to live – and maybe even love. A deeply moving and memorable debut."

Nick Bantock, author

"Susan Wadds writes from a place of deep compassion. She understands her characters’ hearts and minds and because of that she is able to paint their landscape and allow them to pass through their rights of passage in an utterly convincing way. What the Living Do unveils a poignant mirror, carefully formed to reassure its readers that the shadow-corners of their lives are both seen and understood."

Patrick Taylor, author

"Could you deal with survivor guilt and having been molested as a child? Brett Catlin has struggled for twenty-four years. How this strong woman copes and tries to make sense of her world and her relationships with people in it will take the reader on an emotional roller-coaster ride so finely are the plot and the central character and her supporting cast drawn. Effortlessly weaving real-time and backstory the author lets Brett show us how events in her past have shaped her today. And it is today’s Brett who must face a life-and-death decision. You will ache for her. Not only is the story compelling in its emotional complexity, it is told in scintillating prose which on occasion, verges on the poetic. A must read."

Phil Dwyer, author

"Compassionate, courageous and lyrical, What The Living Do is the passionate and powerful debut novel from Susan E. Wadds. Wadds has the courage to go where few other authors venture, into the deep recesses of a psyche damaged by tragedy and misplaced love. In exploring the deep wounds of the past we slowly begin to discover the possibilities of the healing Wadds’ protagonist Brett Catlin has denied herself for so many years. It is a story laden with hurt, but ultimately a story of redemption and reclaimed hope. Of healing in the face of terrible odds. And of the power of compassion and understanding. It’s a remarkable achievement."

John Gould, author

"I can’t go,” says Brett, the life-sized protagonist of this absorbing debut novel, “and I can’t stay.” With trenchant insight and agile prose, Susan Wadds conjures a woman snagged on the horns of the most fundamental of human dilemmas. If neither life nor death will have you, what then? Stick around."

Kimberly R Fahner, author

"Susan E. Wadds’ debut novel, What the Living Do, tells a heartfelt and gripping story that speaks of survival and hope, of how one woman rises above challenges in life and uncovers stories–sometimes falsely remembered and retold–that upend her life. Readers will come to love Brett Catlin for her tenacity and spirit. Even as her world seems to crumble around Brett, she puts one foot in front of the other and strives to find contentment in her life, endearing herself to readers through her struggles."

What experts say

Reviews

“...intellectually vigorous, and emotionally robust…”
“...easily devoured in one sitting…”

The Masters Review

“...a book to savour for its language and to remember for the raw, flawed humanity of its characters.”

K.R. Wilson, Goodreads review

“...a profound story that punches above its page length…”

B.L Lendrum, Amazon Review

"A novel of beauty and bracing nuance."

Foreword Reviews

“...a disturbing, haunting book…”

Cheryl, Goodreads review