This image is the cover for the book Coming of Age at the End of Days

Coming of Age at the End of Days

A girl is lured into fanaticism in this psychological thriller with “stunning twists”—by the New York Times–bestselling author of Turn of Mind (San Francisco Chronicle).

Never one to conform, Anna always had trouble fitting in. Earnest and willful, she quickly learned, as a young girl, how to hide her quirks from her parents and friends. But at sixteen, a sudden melancholia takes hold of her life. Then the Goldschmidts move in next door.

The new neighbors are active members of a religious cult, and Anna is awestruck by both their son, Lars, and their fervent violent prophecies for the Tribulation at the End of Days. Within months, Anna’s life—her family, her home, her very identity—will undergo profound changes. But when her newfound beliefs threaten to push her over the edge, she must find her way back to the center, in this “crisp meditation on the deadly mixture of mental illness and religious charlatanism” (San Francisco Chronicle).

“LaPlante crafts prose that cuts to the quick and is the perfect vehicle for this dark tale. . . . A compelling read.” —The Seattle Times

Alice LaPlante

Alice LaPlante is an award-winning writer of both fiction and non-fiction. She teaches creative writing at Stanford University, where she was a Wallace Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer. She also teaches in the MFA program at San Francisco State University. Her fiction has been widely published in Epoch, Southwestern Review, and other literary journals. Alice is the author of six books, including the LA Times bestseller Method and Madness: The Making of a Story (W.W. Norton 2009). Her first novel, Turn of Mind, was a New York Times , NPR, and American Independent Booksellers Association bestseller, won the Wellcome Trust Book Prize, was a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Award for Fiction, and was named a New York Times and Booklist Editors’ Choice and a #1 IndieNextPick. She lives with her family in Northern California. Author website: alicelaplante.com

Atlantic Monthly Press