SILENCE

Award-winning author William Carpenter examines the bitter legacy of 9/11 and terrorism in this ambitious novel about the nature of conflict andloss.

Nick Colonna is a young veteran returning from Iraq to his hometown on the coast of Maine after an IED explosion has killed his entire unit and left him deaf. Struggling with trauma, in a half-world between sanity and madness, Nick finds solace in memories of better times on nearby Amber Island: a private sanctuary owned by a Boston family and its illustrious patriarch,
Marsden Fletcher. The family is set on developing the island, much to the despair of the youngest Fletcher daughter Julia, who stumbles upon Nick as he settles into becoming the
island's caretaker. As Nick battles his inner demons, Julia fights her family, and Amber Island
faces demolition, Carpenter raises questions about what survives carnage and loss, and where
in a divided and chaotic world is there room for peace and silence.

About the author
William Carpenter is the recipient of the Pablo Neruda award, the Black Warrior award, and the AWP awardin poetry. His previous novels are A Keeper of Sheep and The Wooden Nickel. He and writer Donna Gold live in an old coastal inn and spend summers exploring Maine Islandsi n their family sloop, Northern Light.