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Back No Going Back: a Novel Save as PDF
Chapters (84)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Part 1
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. Part 2
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. Part 3
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. Part 4
  49. 43
  50. 44
  51. 45
  52. 46
  53. 47
  54. 48
  55. 49
  56. 50
  57. 51
  58. 52
  59. Part 5
  60. 53
  61. 54
  62. 55
  63. 56
  64. 57
  65. 58
  66. Part 6
  67. 59
  68. 60
  69. 61
  70. 62
  71. 63
  72. 64
  73. 65
  74. 66
  75. 67
  76. 68
  77. 69
  78. 70
  79. 71
  80. 72
  81. Acknowledgments
  82. About the Author
  83. Also by Sheena Kamal
  84. About the Publisher

The video feels like an absolution between Nate and Nora. It swims with emotion. They are holding grief at bay, the both of them. It is so beautiful and raw it’s uncomfortable.

When the song is done, Nora simply leaves without fanfare.

It’s over.

Good-bye.

72

Whisper and I head farther away from the border, leaving the blues behind us as we go.

We don’t look back.

Well, she does, but she’s fickle like that.

It’s early, the sunlight just breaking through the dim Pacific Northwest slate. An endless sheet of gray broken only by the shadowed mountain peaks that watch over this landscape. Weary sentinels that seem to have been there since the dawn of time.

I’m feeling poetic. I’m feeling not like myself.

Behind us, at the end of a treacherous highway, a mother sits in a kitchen with her daughter. While snow falls on trees beyond the window. They tell stories, slipping into each other’s memories. What they are looking for they find in each other. Another woman enters the room, and the shimmering thing between them grows to include her. So domestic, so banal, this scene of three women in the kitchen together. Though one of them is not yet an adult, she’s not a child, either. She is her own thing, coming into her skin more and more as the days pass. She is the best thing the world has to offer. Kind eyes, unlike any other pair the adults in the room have seen. A love of dance and art.

In that kitchen with a dog sleeping on a rug by the door, they are a family. Like something out of book on a shelf that no one has read. A memory like a secret.

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge the indigenous territories upon which I live and work.

Thank you to Lyssa Keusch, Liate Stehlik, Kate Parkin, Katherine Armstrong, Kaitlin Harri, and Danielle Bartlett.

I’m grateful for the expertise of PH, Dave Pledger, Sunni Westbrook, and Josette Calleja. I would also like to thank Sam Wiebe, Lori Rader-Day, Alix Hawley, Lou Berney, Elizabeth Little, Steph Cha, and Linda Richards for their support, and my family for being the reason I’m able to do this at all.

About the Author

SHEENA KAMAL holds an HBA in political science from the University of Toronto, and was awarded a TD Canada Trust scholarship for community leadership and activism around the issue of homelessness. Kamal has also worked as a crime and investigative journalism researcher for the film and television industry. Her academic knowledge and experience inspired her debut novel, The Lost Ones. She lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

Also by Sheena Kamal

  • The Lost Ones
  • It All Falls Down
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About the Publisher

Australia

HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.

Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street

Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

Canada

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower