In 1966, in Aberfan, Wales, an unthinkable disaster struck: a tip
slide devastated the town, burying houses, schools, farms and
people. 116 children were killed, creating an intolerable void in
the lives of all who inhabited the small mining town. Author
Katherine Leiner, a teenager at the time of the tragedy, joined the
world in communal grief over the tremendous loss. The real-life
story of the disaster haunted Leiner her entire life.

Out of that disaster was born the character Alys Davies. Using
Aberfan's great misfortune as a backdrop, Leiner wrote DIGGING OUT,
a story about Alys Davies, a child who survived being buried by the
mudslide, only to find herself buried alive in so many other ways
later in life.

Alys is one of only a handful of children who are pulled out alive
from the mire that covered the town. She struggles for months, even
years, after the event to physically and psychologically recover
from the loss of her best friend and a large percentage of the
town. In the aftermath, the entire community suffers. Her father,
held responsible by many of the townsfolk, turns to alcohol to
quell his personal demons. Her mother retreats inward, becoming
more and more aloof from her children. As neighbors, family and
friends try to come to grips with their suffocation, Alys, too,
finds her world becoming narrower. One young man, Evan, befriends
her, falls in love with her and supports her throughout. He becomes
her raison d'etre, and yet, somehow, this isn't enough for
her.

Alys is the walking wounded and seeks escape as the only means to
rise above the emotional muck that is keeping her --- and all those
around her --- down. Still a teen, she follows her older sister to
the United States, where she eventually marries, starts a family
and forges a career as a poet. Thirty years pass and it takes
another family tragedy to make Alys realize that changing geography
never truly helped her dig out from under her past. And, in fact,
she has only managed to bury herself all over again by ignoring the
past and even ignoring the truth that is her present.

Leiner's language is beautiful and powerful. One cannot help but
feel swallowed up from the very beginning by the overwhelming loss
experienced by all the main characters. There is an oppression and
sadness in Aberfan that Leiner's evocative writing brings right to
the surface of the story and maintains throughout all the flashback
scenes. And, conversely, when Alys returns home finally to face her
parents and the town, the words on the page open up, as if Moses
just parted the waters. The release is as refreshing as the
mudslide was suffocating. In DIGGING OUT, Leiner reminds us that
loss, to whatever degree, is an integral part of life, and to
survive it one has to learn how to swim, how to keep one's head
above the muddy waters.

Leiner's debut novel has me looking forward to reading her future
work. Clearly she is an author I want to keep my eye on. I think
you will want to too.