Short Synopsis
A stunning, break-out achievement hailed by Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of Room, for presenting "passion and addiction, guilt and damage, all the beautiful mess of family life."

Full Synopsis
Carry the One begins in the hours following Carmen's wedding reception, when a car filled with stoned, drunk, and sleepy guests accidently hits and kills a girl on a dark, country road. For the next twenty-five years, those involved, including Carmen and her brother and sister, connect and disconnect and reconnect with each other and their victim. As one character says, "When you add us up, you always have to carry the one."

Through friendships and love affairs; marriage and divorce; parenthood, holidays, and the modest tragedies and joys of ordinary days, Carry the One shows how one life affects another and how those who thrive and those who self-destruct are closer to each other than we'd expect. Deceptively short and simple in its premise, this novel derives its power and appeal from the author's beautifully precise use of language; her sympathy for her very recognizable, flawed characters; and her persuasive belief in the transforming forces of time and love.

"Renée Raudman provides an intuitive narration that escorts the listener into the future that follows that fateful night, recounting sexual encounters, broken marriages, friends supporting friends, internalized guilt, joys, and sorrows." ---AudioFile

"Masterful in her authenticity, quicksilver dialogue, wise humor, and receptivity to mystery, Anshaw has created a deft and transfixing novel of fallibility and quiet glory." ---Booklist Starred Review

"Anshaw has a deft touch with the events of ordinary life, giving them heft and meaning without being ponderous." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"Anshaw deftly depicts family ties broken and reconnected, portraying the best and the worst of this group of eccentrics." ---Library Journal

"Here's passion and addiction, guilt and damage, all the beautiful mess of family life. Carry the One will lift [listeners] off their feet and bear them along on its eloquent tide." ---Emma Donoghue, author of Room

"Anshaw doles out psychological acuity, antic humor, cultural critique and profound wisdom as the merest casual asides. It can't be as effortless as she makes it look, but it's a pleasure to soar with her, for a while, on that high wire." ---Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home

Booklist Review

New York Times Bestseller

BookPage Best Book

New York Times Bestseller

Publishers Weekly Review