'All the seasons here in the north move toward their own end, except winter, which moves towards its centre and sits there to see how long you can take it.'

In the middle of a Minnesota winter, Arnold Schiller gives in to the opressive season that reigns outside and also to this own inner demons and commits suicide, leaving a devastated family in his wake.

Claire Schiller, wife and mother, takes shelter from the emotional storm with her husband's parents, but must ultimately emerge from her grief and help her two young children to recover. Esau, her oldest, is haunted by the same darkness that plagued his father. At twelve years old, he has already been in and out of psychiatric hospitals. But as the youngest, perhaps it is Katie who carries the heaviest burden. A precocious six year old who desperately wants to help hold the family together, she will have to come to terms with the memory of her father who was at once loving and cruel.

The Centre of Winter finds humour in unlikely places and evokes the north - its people and landscape - with warmth, sensitivity and insight. Narrated alternately by Claire, Katie, and Esau, this passionate debut novel explores the ways in which both children and adults experience tragic events, discover solace and finally, against all odds, find hope in each other.

Marya Hornbacher's memoir Wasted was published to critical acclaim and impressive sales in 1998. The Centre of Winter is her first novel. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.