Silence is safe. Fate is not. When Sovern Briggs survives a car crash, she stops talking in order to seal in the memory of the final sounds of her mother's life. As conflict with her father builds and failure in school looms, Sovern seeks relief in a dangerous boyfriend and in speed's adrenaline edge. These needs collide, leading Sovern to a snowboarding accident that changes her future . . . and perhaps that of our universe. Life at the Speed of Us weaves dyslexia, math, cutting-edge science, genius, and love into a young woman's reluctant journey toward grace.


Heather Sappenfield (Vail, CO) received an MFA from Pacific University. She has written for The Writer’s Chronicle, Mountain Flyer Magazine, and Mountain House and Home. Her fiction has appeared in Meridian, Shenandoah, Limestone, and Tampa Review. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has been a finalist for the Serena McDonald Kennedy Award, the St. Lawrence Book Award, the Doris Bakwin Prize, and the Flannery O’Connor Award.