MacKenzie’s Last Run

"A highly recommended, emotionally compelling survival tale." - Midwest Book Review

A story about the damaging effects of unresolved grief and the wide-ranging impact of gun violence, MacKenzie's Last Run shows how vital communication is to emotional health in a survival story that is as much about the survival of a family as it is about the survival of a young teen. It focuses on thirteen-year-old MacKenzie (Mac) Lawrence, who has slowly withdrawn from everyone since his father's death in a mass shooting more than a year before. He's too ashamed to tell Mom and twin sister Tessa that it's his fault Dad is dead--if it hadn't been for him Dad wouldn't have been anywhere near the mall that terrible day. Mom and Tessa are submerged in their own mourning at first, but when they finally begin to function again, they don't understand Mac's sullen, snarky behavior, which continues to escalate, destroying even his once-close tie with his twin. Then Mom announces her plans to remarry. Mac erupts in a fury and runs away to force her to break off the engagement. Unfortunately, nothing goes as planned. He ends up seriously injured, miles from home, and unable to call for help. Tessa sets out on a desperate search to find him. But she'd better hurry, because Mac is running out of time.