At first, Into the Forest was a word-of-mouth favorite of booksellers. Soon, larger publishing houses were noticing Jean Hegland's debut novel and giving it rave reviews. Powerful and disturbing, Into the Forest offers images of an all-too-believable future. As America collapses in the chaos of war, pollution, and bankruptcy, two sisters pool their resources to survive alone in the hills above San Francisco. Although dwindling food and increasing isolation threaten them, they soon find a more immediate danger standing at their door. When a young man arrives, his friendship offers tantalizing fulfillment, but his love threatens to divide the sisters. Hegland's provocative work is reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984 and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. It infuses a tale of survival with startling insights into a young woman's quest for strength.
Download and start listening now!
“Hegland writes with clarity of events and emotions, and Elliott’s reading is always powerful yet understated. A world the listener can hardly imagine becomes vivid through the author’s prose and Elliott’s ability to portray the emotions of both sisters. She creates a powerful, memorable visit to a very different reality.”
— AudioFile
“Beautifully written and often profoundly moving.”
— San Francisco Chronicle“From the first page, the sense of crisis and the lucid, honest voice of the…narrator pull the reader in…A truly admirable addition to a genre defined by the very high standards of George Orwell’s 1984.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Mesmerizing…Hegland’s sweet and sadly elegiac tale is an engrossing coming-of-age adventure.”
— Booklist“A work of extraordinary power, insight and lyricism, Into the Forest is both an urgent warning and a passionate celebration of life and love.”
— Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice and the Blade“Beautifully written.”
— Kirkus ReviewsBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Jean Hegland is the author of The Life Within: Celebration of a Pregnancy. She lives with her husband and three children in northern California on fifty-five acres of second-growth forest. She is at work on her next novel, which explores the issues of motherhood.
Alyssa Bresnahan is a dynamic dancer, actor, and audiobook narrator. She has narrated over two hundred audiobooks, has earned twenty Earphones Awards, and was named one of AudioFile magazine’s Golden Voices. In 2009 she was a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best fiction narration.