Before This Is Over

"A gripping look at the way humanity handles crisis." --Newsweek

In the midst of a devastating epidemic, how far will a desperate mother go to keep her loved ones safe?

There is a deadly virus spreading around the world. At first it is a distant alarm bell in the background of Hannah's comfortable suburban life. Then suddenly, it has arrived on the doorstep.

The quarantine traps Hannah, her husband, and their young sons in their home and forces them to rely on their own resourcefulness as water and power supplies are cut, food reserves dwindle, and their formerly idyllic backyard and quiet street become battlefields. Hannah is convinced that if she keeps her wits about her, she can protect her family, even as one threat after another looms just on the other side of the door.
Compulsively readable and deeply personal, Before This Is Over forces us to grapple with disas­ter through the eyes of an ordinary woman. How far will she go to keep her loved ones safe?

Amanda Hickie has always been interested in ethical questions. She and her family lived in Canada during the SARS outbreak of 2003 and that experience provided the seed for Before This Is Over. Hickie lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband and two sons.