Valley High, Mountain Low

Astute novel. A microcosm of contemporary America. -BookLife Reviews Mariella torches her life-bolting from her narcissistic tech-bro husband, a suffocating Silicon Valley techstar career, and the soul-searing illusion of "having it all." But when she returns to her childhood home in Colorado to regroup, she finds a world completely unraveled.Her mom is off storming the Capitol in full QAnon regalia. Her nieces are disappearing into social media's quiet damage and self-erasure. The destructive algorithms Mariella once helped push are no longer abstract. They are deeply personal."We thought we were connecting the world... But we forgot to connect families at the dinner table."As truth blurs and the people she loves slip farther out of reach, Mariella is forced to confront everything she spent her lifetime avoiding: grief, family, belonging, and the cost of staying silent.Perfect for readers of thoughtful literary and women's fiction, family drama, and stories that ask hard questions with compassion. Darkly humorous, deeply human, and timely, Valley High, Mountain Low watches the headlines come home to live in one family's story, exploring the surprising ways we can travel back to ourselves when everything else crashes.What Crawford does best is intuit the perspective of a woman on a deeply emotional, challenging journey... Mar's voice is distinctive and relatable. -BookLife Prize