Join us for an engaging afternoon featuring light refreshments and an insightful discussion with author Allison Buccola as she shares details about her latest novel, The Ascent, set to be released on May 20, 2025. Allison is also the author of Catch Her When She Falls, a psychological thriller that captivated readers with its gripping narrative. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear directly from Allison about what readers can expect from The Ascent. 

In addition to her writing career, Allison holds a JD from the University of Chicago. She resides in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and their two young children.

The Ascent

What would you do if the past showed up on your doorstep? A woman who grew up in a cult must decide if she can trust the stranger claiming to have answers to the dark mysteries of her childhood in this irresistible thriller. 

Twenty years ago, the members of a reclusive commune outside Philadelphia vanished without a trace. The mystery of their disappearance has never been solved. No sightings of the members were ever verified, and no bodies ever found. But the group did leave one thing behind: a twelve-year-old girl wandering alone on the side of the road in search of her lost family.

In the years since that morning, Lee Burton has tried to put the pain of her past behind her. She has built a new identity for herself, with a doting husband and seven-month-old daughter, Lucy. No one in her life now knows about her connection to “the cult that went missing,” not even her husband. But new motherhood is proving a bigger challenge than she anticipated. She doesn't want to let Lucy out of her sight even for a moment. She can't return to work. She's not sleeping, and she's starting to have paranoid thoughts of Lucy being harmed.

Then a stranger shows up on her doorstep, offering to finally answer all of Lee’s questions about her past—if she could only trust that the woman is who she says she is. As she digs deeper into the woman's history, the safe, stable life that Lee has constructed for herself threatens to shatter. In The Ascent, Allison Buccola has crafted a nerve-rattling thriller about motherhood, identity, and the truths we think we know about our families.

Photography and Video Policy: By registering for or participating in this event, you or those attending with you may be photographed or recorded on video that will be used for library promotional purposes. If you or a member of your group would not like to be photographed, please alert a staff member at the program.