ADRIFT
About:
Ess wakes up alone on a sailboat in the remote Pacific Northwest with no memory of who she is or how she got there. She finds a note, but it's more warning than comfort: Start over. Don't make yourself known. Don't look back.
Ess must have answers. She sails over a turbulent ocean to a town hundreds of miles away that, she hopes, might offer insight. The chilling clues she uncovers point to a desperate attempt at erasing her former life. But why? And someone is watching her...someone who knows she must never learn her truth.
In Ess's world, the earth is precariously balanced at a climate tipping point, and she is perched at the edge of a choice: which life does she want? The one taken from her—and the dangerous secret that was buried—or the new one she can make for herself?
A galvanizing riddle that is just as unmooring as it seems, this sharp character-driven odyssey explores a future challenged by our quickly changing world and the choices we must make to save what matters most.
ADRIFT
By Lisa Brideau
Genre: Speculative suspense
Format: Novel
Publication Status: Traditionally Published
Intended Audience: Adult, Ages 30 and older
Comparable Films / Books:
Silo (tv), Orphan Black (tv), Station Eleven (book/tv)
Notable Achievements:
- WINNER - 2024 EVERGREEN AWARD
- Strand Magazine Critics Award - Best Debut Novel Finalist 2024
- Crime Writers of Canada Best First Novel Award Finalist 2024
- List of reviews and media mentions (including CBC, Globe & Mail) here: https://www.lisabrideau.com/events
Content Considerations
Content Warnings:
- N/A
About the Author
LISA BRIDEAU was born and raised in Nova Scotia. Her writing is inspired by the ridiculous quantities of science fiction she read during her formative years with a crust of CanLit layered on top.
She has degrees in Aerospace Engineering Urban Planning and currently works as a sustainability specialist. When she takes breaks from trying to prepare for climate change, she likes to write speculative fiction or practice her waltz. She lives in Vancouver, BC (the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples) with her husband. She is most likely cuddling a cat right now.
ADRIFT is Lisa's debut novel and was the winner of the 2024 Evergreen Award. Her writing has been generously supported by Canada Council for the Arts, Bread Loaf, Monson Arts, and Banff Centre for the Creative Arts.
Short Film Adaptation Idea
The novel's opening scene where the main character finds herself on a sailboat in the staggeringly scenic nature of Haida Gwaii. After waking with a headache, she slowly realizes she has no memory of who she is or how she got there, she just has a note telling her this was done on purpose and not to go digging into her past. The terror of being unknown to yourself, not recognizing your own face, is set against the beauty of the Gwaii Haanas landscape - a place seemingly removed from time. What do you do, anchored in the pacific ocean, no idea who you are, your memory having been wiped for your own good (allegedly)? Where do you go from there?
