High Clear Bell of Morning

Ruby’s life begins to unravel when she hears voices coming from her closet. It isn’t long before they are with her all the time. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, her treatment goes awry when she meets a drug dealer, Kenny, in group therapy. He introduces her to cocaine, and then heroin, and within a short space of time she is ready to do almost anything for a drug that makes her feel alive.

Unwilling to let her go, her father, Glen, follows Ruby through the streets, catching glimpses of the horror-filled world in which his daughter now resides. Desperate to comprehend her illness, he finds parallels between Ruby and his job as a marine biologist, particularly in the mysterious death
of a young whale, found with a body full of chemicals. In a struggle to get his daughter back, Glen commits an unthinkable act that could cause him to lose everything else that has ever mattered to him.

Elegantly told and affecting, High Clear Bell of Morning illustrates the strain on families facing mental illnesses, and draws attention to the inadequate system that is meant to help. At the same time, it celebrates the natural world and sends a cautionary warning of what we all have to lose.

High Clear Bell of Morning lives up to the high praise Ann Eriksson’s writing has received from Robert Kroetsch, Nino Ricci and many others.