ARE YOU PARCHED OR FLOODED?
In a world divided between drought and drowning, one young man must decide what it truly means to live-and what humanity owes the Earth that sustains it.
Cole has spent his entire life among the Parched, a desert community clinging to survival in a world slowly being swallowed by water. The Parched conserve every drop, mend what can be saved, and believe humanity's only hope is resisting extinction.
Then a girl washes ashore... alive.
She belongs to the Flooded, a religious movement where members-who believe humanity must drown to give the planet a second chance-sacrifice themselves to the sea. For some unknown reason, the Flooded have been kidnapping members of the Parched tribes in growing numbers.
When the leader of Cole's tribe asks him to question the girl, he learns that his own mother was one of the Flooded. Now, whispers of war ripple through the Parched villages, and leaders speak of wiping out the Flooded entirely.
With his world fractured and desperate for answers, Cole sets out alone across hostile territory toward the Flooded lands. What he finds there will force him to question everything.
What if the Flooded aren't mad?
What if survival isn't the same as salvation?
And what if the sea is not the enemy at all?
Praise for WE, THE DROWNING
"In this novella that made me nostalgic for the best parts of the dystopia boom of the 2010s, Lindz McLeod weaves an achingly human story of a young man who seeks to understand his deceased mother-and the cult she abandoned him to die for. We, the Drowning is a heartfelt examination of the complicated legacies our mothers leave us, all the while asking us what good we'll do to correct our ancestors' mistakes."
-S.M. Hallow, author of "How to Stay Married to Baba Yaga"
"Compelling and heartfelt in equal measure, in We, The Drowning McLeod skillfully weaves a poignant tale that grapples with the complexities of climate grief, community division and kinship, and our connection with the natural world. Tinged with hope and beauty, this is a stunning allegoric read that will keep you thinking long after putting it down."
-Lyndsey Croal, Shirley Jackson Award and British Fantasy Award Finalist
