2024 SCWES BOOK AWARDS FOR BC AUTHORS WINNER As the first month of 2016 rolled into the next, the death count continued to climb... Evann has no excuse to be living among the city's destitute. When he reached into the medicine cabinet for that first dose of OxyContin, he didn't consider everything the drug might take; he could only see the escape it might offer. Determined to prove himself as an artist, Evann moves to the city, only to discover that physical distance can't sever the emotional ties binding him to a past fraught with pain and rejection. Desperate to escape his own anxious thoughts and his mother's relentless criticisms, he enters an insidious spiral that ultimately costs him everything. On the unforgiving streets of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, Evann doesn't know who to trust, where to turn, or how to regain control over his all-consuming addiction. Wracked by shame and fear, he lurks in the city's shadows, until a brush with death presents a chance to get his life back on track. But confronted with his secret, will his family be there for him? In an evocative debut, Long sheds light on the devastating consequences of ostracizing those who yearn for love and connection the most.