So Far Gone

Two half-siblings, Leah and Asher Collins, arrive at the house of their grandfather, Rhys Kinnick. They are accompanied by their middle-aged neighbor, Anna Gaines. Rhys initially doesn’t recognize his grandchildren because he hasn’t seen them in several years. Rhys lives in a remote cabin in Stevens County, isolated from his daughter, Bethany, and her family in Spokane, Washington.

Several days earlier, Bethany left Asher and Leah behind for an undisclosed destination. Bethany’s sudden disappearance prompted Asher’s father, Shane, to go looking for her. Bethany left a letter instructing Anna to take her children to Rhys. Rhys takes offense to the way Bethany has depicted him in her letter, calling him a “recluse” who lives in “squalor.” When Rhys asks why Bethany didn’t leave her kids with his ex-wife, Celia, he learns that Celia died a month earlier. Rhys grieves for her and is suddenly filled with regret over the time he has spent away from his family.

The novel flashes back seven and a half years to 2016. Rhys visits Bethany in Grants Pass, Oregon, for Thanksgiving. Bethany implores Rhys and Shane (whom Rhys calls “Shithead Shane”) not to raise the subject of politics, fearing that they may fight over the recent presidential elections.