A lyrical exploration of loss, marriage, parenthood, and self-reliance.
He promised her he would never let go.
She’s willing to risk everything to hold on.
In the aftermath of her husband’s logging accident, Elsa Arnasson is determined to carry on while caring for their two small children in the unfinished house he was building for them in the woods of rural Wisconsin.
To cope with the challenges of winter and the near-daily miscommunications from her in-laws, she forges her own relationship with the land, learning from and taking comfort in the trees her husband had so loved. If she wants to stay in their home, she must discover her own capabilities, and accept help from the people and places she least expects.
Dunbar, drawing from her own lived experiences, vividly describes the wonder and harshness of life off the grid.
Told over the course of a year, The Net Beneath Us is a lyrical exploration of loss, marriage, parenthood, and self-reliance; a tale of how the natural world — without and within us — offers us healing, if we can learn where to look.
Winner of the Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award
“I read The Net Beneath Us with the sensation of falling. These characters come foremost from earth and weather; their knocks are hard, their growth earned, their suspense organic to tragedy. Carol Dunbar’s writing is by turns taut and sumptuous — she delivers both a tumble through the shifting light of grief, and a shady and forgiving forest floor on which to land.”
“There are novels that we enjoy, but the most memorable ones, and The Net Beneath Us is one of these, leave readers with a sense that our lives have been enriched. An astonishing debut.”
“Containing wisdom as deeply rooted as a Wisconsin forest, The Net Beneath Us is an evocative and beautifully written meditation on grief and the lasting power of friendship. A story that reminds us that in difficult times, showing vulnerability can be the ultimate act of strength.”
“Drawing from her own experience living off the grid in northern Wisconsin, Dunbar’s debut novel encapsulates what it means to come home to oneself.”