Road Out of Winter

The protagonist Wil is placed at odds with the dominant forces in the novel, as a bisexual woman in a patriarchal society, as an herbalist in a wintry landscape.^[1][2] Jonah Raskin of the New York Journal of Books described her as "a kind of redneck Wonder Woman".^[3]

Wil contends with various forms of patriarchy and oppressive masculinity, which is exemplified by her boyfriend Lobo, a patriarchal cult called The Church, and the violent gangs that inhabit the post apocalyptic country.^[2] Violent masculinity is equated with the primal, natural world in the novel.^[2] Nature as an antagonistic force is another theme of the novel, with Maria Warren of Nerd Daily writing that "the landscape becomes a villain on its own" in the novel.^[1]

The book received mostly positive reviews from critics,^[4][2][3] earning praise for its tense atmosphere and prose.^[2][5]

D. Harlan Wilson in the Los Angeles Review of Books praised its portrayal of a dystopic Ohio that was rooted in the present day culture of Appalachia.^[2] Mira Harlequin of Library Journal wrote that it included elements of a rural thriller.^[4] It was included on the Los Angeles Times list of eight books about the American working class to read instead of Hillbilly Elegy.^[6]

It won the 2021 Philip K. Dick Award.^[7]