Ache (2017)
A year ago, a devastating bushfire ripped Annie’s world apart – killing her grandmother, traumatising her young daughter and leaving her mother’s home in the mountains half destroyed. Annie fled back to the city, but the mountain continues to haunt her. Now, drawn by a call for help from her uncle, she’s going back to the place she loves most in the world, to try to heal herself, her marriage, her daughter and her mother.
A heart-wrenching, tender and lovely novel about loss, grief and regeneration, Ache is not only a story of how we can be broken, but how we can put ourselves back together.
What People Are Saying
“Although Ache is very much a story of loss and grief, it’s by no means a sad story. Rather, it is one of hope for the future. It is beautiful and gently flowing, written with a maturity hard to believe of such a young author.”
— Readings
“A tender tale, suggesting we can always fix what’s been broken”
— Yours Magazine
“Her prose is clever and rich, full of descriptive motifs and wry observations… Eliza Henry-Jones’s gift for close observation and emotional nuance is undeniable.”
— The Saturday Paper
“Henry-Jones divines unconventional familial relationships with a wand of love. Elementally moving.”
— The Australian Women’s Weekly
“This novel is moving without being sentimental; Henry-Jones has trained as a grief and trauma counsellor, and her characters ring impressively true in their actions and reactions.”
— The Sydney Morning Herald
“Ache is the perfect account of a woman on the edge, moving towards peace. It is an extraordinary creation from a young novelist.”
— Books + Publishing
“This haunting yet ultimately hopeful tale of one family’s attempt to rise from the ashes of tragedy will resonate with anyone familiar with the destructive power of fire and all who are inspired by the spirit of those able to regenerate after desolation.”
— Good Reading Magazine
“Henry-Jones portrays the complexity of relationships with skill… and the way closeness sometimes skips a generation in a family is beautifully rendered.”
— The Australian
“Eliza Henry-Jones writes with a perception that is missing in much fiction. Characters are brought to life with carefully chosen words, and it is a spectacular read at every level despite the reader feeling uncomfortable, sad and moved. In a country where fires are part of the landscape, Ache is a book that should find its place on every reading list. And given the fact that this is just her second novel and she is less than 30 years old, Eliza Henry-Jones is an author to keep an eye out for if this work is anything to go by.”
— The Weekly Times