Falling Through the Night

AWARD WINNING BOOK

Published: February 2024 by Demeter Press.
ISBN: 978-1-77258-486-8

Audrey Meyerwitz wants to fall in love and have a family. But for this queer 30-something insomniac who’s struggled with Generalized Anxiety Disorder since childhood, it’s a goal that’s far from simple. Audrey’s life has been packed full of sleepless nights, pills, psychiatrists, and a string of nightmare girlfriends.

When best friend Jessica, a recovering alcoholic, helps introvert Audrey with a profile on SheLovesHer, Audrey takes that scary first step toward her lifelong dream: a healthy family. Audrey falls for Denise, a French Canadian from Montreal, and they negotiate love across a border. Audrey eventually immigrates and creates a new life in Quebec, including marriage, a gang of queer friends called The Itchy Mortals, and eventually, a twin pregnancy.

But her path is far from smooth. One of the twins has Down Syndrome, and Audrey faces her adoptive mother’s disapproval when she and Denise decide to give the child up. She struggles in marriage after baby, with a disappearing sex life, a massive crush on a colleague, and guilt she can’t help feeling about Jessica’s sudden relapse. Finally, Audrey unearths a secret about her mother, and the discovery changes everything she understood about her place in the world, as a mother, a daughter, and a person with mental illness.

What does it take to create loving relationships from roots of profound alienation? With humor, honesty, and complexity, Audrey learns that healthy love means accepting both gains and losses, taking off the blinders of fantasy, and embracing the messiness that defines human nature and human families.

Falling Through the Night won the National Indie Excellence Award, LGBTQ category, in 2024.

Falling Through the Night was a finalist for an Independent Publishers
of New England award, Fantabulous Other category, in 2024.

  • “Author Gail Marlene Schwartz paints a picture of complex human relationships, of family found, formed, and chosen, and of the ways that people find strength and meaning in their lives, despite [their] unexpected turns. The first-person perspective at times gives the book the feel of a memoir, while the dialogue keeps the story moving and makes readers feel like they are in the room with the characters. Despite (or perhaps because of) the sometimes-heavy topics, this is an ultimately hopeful tale, as we see flawed, human characters finding their way, just as we might be doing.”

    The Mombian Database
    of LGBTQ Family Books

  • “Falling Through the Night by Gail Marlene Schwartz tackles the universal theme of creating families with a unique example. Given Audrey’s circumstances, it shows the obstacles of making such a thing happen realistically. All of the characters are fleshed out, and their relationships are believable. I would recommend this book to those interested in reading stories involving LGBTQ+, anxiety-prone, and/or adopted protagonists; Canada; and families. The novel is out now, so go get it!”

    Book Reviews by a Chick Who Reads Everything

  • “Each character brings something new to the story and Audrey’s life; the colorful array of personalities comes together and creates a beautiful rich tapestry of love and friendship.” -Emily Maynard for Readers’ Favorite (5 stars) “The winning combination of Schwartz’s beautifully crafted prose and attention to detail allows the reader to journey with Audrey across two countries in her quest for a new family and a better life. Falling Through the Night shines a light on the ups and downs of anxiety disorder, and spins a story where the LGBTQ protagonist learns to recognize and accept herself, but so does everyone else.”

    Lori Shwydky, Publisher,
    Rebel Mountain Press

  • “Falling Through the Night is a moving look at the ways in which anxiety and family issues intersect. The book is one part magical romance and two parts unflinching account of a queer woman’s messy journey. Audrey’s path is to create a healthy family despite and because of a past shaped by lies and haunted by a mother she never knew. The book could be described as a page-turning beach read, as we are privy to the whirlwind, sweet, and romantic lesbian love story at the heart of this book. But [Falling Through the Night] is so much more than that—it is also a deep dive into family, friendship, addiction, and mental health, at times leaving the reader breathless with all the complexity and beauty that is life.”

    Dr. Jennifer Marlow, author and Professor of English, College of St. Rose

  • “Falling Through the Night is a breathtaking debut novel. Audrey is thoroughly relatable as a person dealing with mental health issues who is also full of talent, courage, creativity, and love. A page turner, the book engaged me as both a human with my own struggles but also as a therapist who understands the complexities of early childhood trauma and all the pain involved in healing. Audrey’s immigration to Quebec was a wonderful opportunity to experience that culture and the particularities of a young queer artist fumbling and learning as she adapts. A wonderful portrayal of a woman doing the personal work we all need to do to grow. Inspiring, engaging, and ultimately incredibly hopeful.”

    Glo Harris, therapist
    and corporate coach

  • Schwartz writes in muscular prose when documenting the highs and lows of dating and pregnancy … A sometimes-heartbreaking novel about what it means to be a daughter and a mother.

    Kirkus Reviews

  • “...a complicated, joyous, vexing, beautiful journey.”

    The Montpelier Bridge

  • “... It is also a deep dive into family, friendship, addiction, and mental health, at times leaving the reader breathless with all the complexity and beauty that is life.”

    Dr. Jennifer Marlow, College of St. Rose

  • “A wonderful portrayal of a woman doing the personal work we all need to do to grow. Inspiring, engaging, and ultimately incredibly hopeful.”

    Glo Harris, therapist and corporate coach