Untended, The

AMERICAN FICTION BOOK AWARDS WINNER 2025 "Raw and up-close." —Readers' Favorite, 5-star review "A lucid critique of American individualism." —Kirkus "Fascinating... from cover to cover." —Midwest Book Review For fans of Gillian Flynn and Rachel Kushner, a gritty contemporary debut novel. Casch Abbey is a waitress, single mom, and recreational boxer who falls in love twice: first with a veteran who secretly grows pot on a rich man’s land in Vermont’s Green Mountains, and then with a painkiller that eases her long-buried pain. After her foot is crushed under the wheel of a station wagon, Casch loses her waitressing gig and goes broke—and the meds for her foot are her only source of relief. But when the drug is recalled due to outcries of widespread addiction, Casch’s dependence imperils her already tenuous life, as cravings lead her into her small town’s simmering netherworld. Intimate and exhilarating, The Untended will upend your every assumption about who is a hero and who is worthy of love. Narrated by the author. “Addictive.” —Tom Engelhardt, author of Shadow Government “I couldn't look away.” —Liz Harmer, author of Strange Loops and The Amateurs “A life-affirming story of gumption, resourcefulness, and ferocious attachment.” —Nancy D. Campbell, author of The Narcotic Farm