Down from Cascom Mountain

By: Ann Joslin Williams

Published by Islandport Press, 2026-05-05

A haunting debut novel about loss, healing, and the power of place to both wound and restore us.<br/>Mary Walker returns to the New Hampshire mountains of her childhood with her new husband, ready to rebuild her family's house on Cascom Mountain and start their life together. But in a single, devastating moment during a routine hike, she watches helplessly as her husband falls to his death, leaving her utterly alone in the wilderness that once felt like home.<br/><br/>Struggling with sudden widowhood in the isolated mountain community, Mary finds unexpected solace among the seasonal crew that maintains the trails and lodge―young people who gather each night to share ghost stories and songs. She forms a deep connection with Callie, a sensitive sixteen-year-old who sees past Mary's grief, and with Tobin, the brilliant but awkward boy she once babysat, who now keeps silent vigil on her roof as she attempts to repair more than just her family's house.<br/><br/>When her husband's estranged father arrives on the mountain, seeking some belated connection to his lost son, Mary must confront not only her own grief but the complicated legacy of family wounds. As the small community rallies around her, Mary discovers that healing comes not from escaping the past but from embracing the rugged beauty and harsh realities of the place that shaped her.<br/><br/>Set against the unforgiving terrain of New Hampshire's mountains, Down from Cascom Mountain is a powerful exploration of how we rebuild our lives after loss―and how the land we love can break us and make us whole again. Ann Joslin Williams, writing in the fictional world first created by her father, National Book Award winner Thomas Williams, announces herself as a formidable novelist in her own right.