Set in Toronto in the blistering summer of 1971, Back to the Garden is about four strangers who take a chance on a new psychological treatment: group therapy. What seems, at first, like a good idea, quickly spirals out of control as the participants connect outside of the sessions in unforeseen and catastrophic ways, each character locked into an escalating crisis. Funny and heart-breaking, Back to the Garden is a love letter to Toronto at a pivotal point in the City’s coming of age – when the folk scene was in full throttle, disenchantment over Vietnam was gathering momentum, the authority of the psychiatric establishment was called into question and social forces were pressing for a more inclusive society. The novel’s themes of human rights, bullying and mental illness make it increasingly relevant.

MEGAN WYKES wrote freelance for many years, including a stint at ARTNews Magazine, and worked as an editor for 15 years at Oxford University Press, Harcourt Brace and Canadian Scholars' Press. Her first poetry volume, Colour Theory, was published in 2016 (Guernica Editions). Her writing has appeared in arts and literary magazines, including The Antigonish Review, The Dalhousie Review, The Frequent & Vigorous Quarterly, Geist, Hamilton Arts & Letters Magazine, The Maynard Magazine, Misunderstanding Magazine, The Nashwaak Review, paperplates, Qwerty and The Toronto Quarterly. Back to the Garden is her first novel.

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"Fresh, engaging, powerful and genuine." —Rebecca Silver Slayter, author of In the Land of Birdfishes