“By rights this tale of the complete collapse of society and technology should be a depressing story, but the author has turned it onto a triumph.”
—Barbara Howe,
Dorset Evening Echo
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“A powerful, extremely moving tale about motherhood, the choices we make, and the impact we can have on one another. Highly recommended.”
— Robin Nesbin,
Library Journal
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“Hegland takes the reader upon the month-by-month journey traveled by every mother-to-be … [her] rich prose style makes it all a joy to read.”
—Booklist
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“A moving, beautiful story about what persists and what doesn’t, about what can be repaired and what can’t. This is a tale focused and personal, but also large and philosophical.”
—Karen Joy Fowler, author of
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
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Welcome
Photo: Fondation Jan Michalski @ Wiktoria Bosc
Welcome to the official website for Jean Hegland, author of Into the Forest, Windfalls, The Life Within, and Still Time.
Jean’s latest novel, Still Time, is about a Shakespeare scholar’s attempts to come to terms with his life and reconcile with his estranged daughter as he struggles with Alzheimer’s disease. An intellectual and emotional tour de force that confronts—and transcends—our fears of aging and memory loss, Still Time has received enthusiastic acclaim from Shakespeare scholars as well as from readers who are indifferent (or even allergic) to Shakespeare. A French translation is forthcoming with Éditions Phébus.
Into the Forest, the story of two sisters struggling to survive after the collapse of technological society, has been translated into over a dozen languages since it was first published in 1997. It been chosen for a number of college and city-wide reading programs, and has been adapted as a Canadian feature film, a French graphic novel, and a French text book. The film, directed by Patricia Rozema, stars Elliot Page (who also serves as co-producer) and Evan Rachel Wood. It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2015, and is now available on a number of online and on-demand video services. The graphic novel was created by the acclaimed graphic novel artist Lomig, and published by Editions Sarbacane in 2019.
Photo: Susan M. GainesJean’s novel Windfalls is an honest and moving examination of contemporary motherhood. In addition to the American edition, it has also been published in the UK, Germany, and France. The French edition was released by Éditions Phébus in August 2021 and has received enthusiastic critical reviews from many sources, including Le Monde and Elle. It was one of the best-selling foreign novels of the 2021 literary season, and ranked 4th on Livres Hebdo list of top foreign novels.
Jean enjoys meeting other book-lovers at writers conferences, workshops, and in bookstores; check the events page or look below for information on upcoming events.