Tilt: A Novel

Summary

Set over the course of a single day, an electrifying debut novel follows one woman’s journey across a transformed city, carrying the weight of her past and a fervent hope for the future.

“Last night, you and I were safe. Last night, in another universe, your father and I stood fighting in the kitchen.”

Annie is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib when a massive earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. With no way to reach her husband, no phone or money, and a city left in chaos, there’s nothing to do but walk.

Making her way across the wreckage of Portland, Annie experiences human desperation and kindness: strangers offering help, a riot at a grocery store, and an unlikely friendship with a young mother. As she walks, Annie reflects on her struggling marriage, her disappointing career, and her anxiety about having a baby. If she can just make it home, she is determined to change her life.

Tilt is about the disappointments and desires we all carry and what each of us will do for the people we love.