We're All in This Together

By: Amy Jones

Narrated by: Ruth Marshall

Winner of Northern Lit Award

Finalist for the Leacock Medal for Humour

Quill & Quire "Books of the Year 2016"

Globe & Mail "Best Canadian Fiction of 2016"

A Penguin Book Club Pick


A woman goes over a waterfall, a video goes viral, a family goes into meltdown—life is about to get a lot more complicated for the Parker family.

Like all families, the Parkers of Thunder Bay have had their share of complications. But when matriarch Kate Parker miraculously survives plummeting over a waterfall in a barrel—a feat captured on a video that goes viral—it's Kate's family who tumbles into chaos under the spotlight. Her prodigal daughter returns to town. Her 16-year-old granddaughter gets caught up in an online relationship with a man she has never met. Her husband sifts through their marriage to search for what sent his wife over the falls. Her adopted son fears losing the only family he's ever known. Then there is Kate, who once made a life-changing choice and now fears her advancing dementia will rob her of memories from when she was most herself. Set over the course of four calamitous days, Amy Jones's big-hearted first novel follows the Parkers' misadventures as catastrophe forces them to do something they never thought possible—act like a family.

Critic reviews

"In her exploration of family, and the 'many moments that cleave our lives in two,' Jones has created a novel of great psychological insight and a kind of sharp-edged tenderness that revels not in family dysfunction, but in its 'beautiful, crazy chaos.'" —Quill & Quire

"We're All in This Together is a complicated laying of time shifts and perspectives, as each character takes their turn revealing their inner emotional lives and personal history." —Metro News

"Jones has a clean and direct style, with flourishes that keep [the story] interesting and surprising." —Globe & Mail

"The story is so entertaining. At times laugh-out-loud funny, We're All in This Together deftly taps into the fears and failures of all of us." —Toronto Star


Advance Praise for We're All in This Together:

"Amy Jones has written a stunning tale that reveals not just the cracks in a family's foundation, but the ties that bind them together too. By turns hilarious and melancholy, We're All in This Together is a heartfelt tour de force. Go ahead. Just try to put it down." —Terry Fallis, author of The Best Laid Plans and Poles Apart

"Amy Jones makes me laugh. Her captivating book, the entire byzantine history of a modern family distilled into one feverish weekend, will do the same for you. A multi-voiced choir of crazy birds all singing their own tune, We're All in This Together makes real music." —Marina Endicott, author of Close to Hugh

"Count the Parkers among the great families in literature. We're All in This Together is a pyrotechnic celebration of the 'crazy chaos' of the modern family that will have you laughing and weeping with recognition on every page. Amy Jones writes with lightning bolt prose and an uncanny insight into the joys, grudges, regrets, and sacrifices that make any family who they are. Behold one of the best young writers in this country working at the top of her game. A bravura performance. I simply could not stop reading this book." —Michael Christie, author of If I Fall, If I Die