CARRY the ONE, one captivating novel by Carol Anshaw

Carry the One, centers around a family of 3 siblings, two sisters, Carmen & Alice and their brother, Nick.  This intelligent and complex novel begins the night of Carmen's wedding. In the aftermath of the celebration a young girl is struck & killed by a car of wedding guests.  The car is driven by Nick's date Olivia, both being under the influence of drugs & alcohol.  Alice and several other revelers are also passengers and along with Carmen, are bound by feelings of culpability and guilt.  Olivia acknowledged that guilt is the easiest and simplest response but "much more complicated was living past guilt, bearing the permanence, accommodating the weight of having done something terrible and completely undoable."  Anshaw has been awarded the Carl Sandburg Lit. Arts Award.  In Carry the One, she creates a stirring novel dealing with genuine emotions of love, commitment, redemption and quilt.  Some people move beyond blaming anyone.  Some are capable of giving forgiveness yet others are incapable of accepting it.   Understanding what enables some people to strive forward while others implode makes this ONE unforgetable.