CATALYST PRESS
THE ENUMERATIONS
ISBN 9781960803085 | paperback | $19.95 | publication date September 2024
Noah Groome counts to five. At seventeen, he can do more than that, but counting everything in fives— from the steps he takes to the minutes in the day—keeps his raging anxiety at bay. The voice in his head, which he calls The Dark, controls everything he does.
And it’s getting worse.
His increasingly severe OCD impacts every member of Noah’s family: his mother Kate, desperate for comfort as her home life falls apart; his father Dominic, who retreats emotionally as old demons rise to the surface; his protective little sister Maddie, forced to be the happy child; and most of all Noah, a troubled teenager trying to protect his loved ones from himself.
Following a violent incident at school, Noah is sent to rehab in Cape Town, where he meets Juliet, a rebellious girl with a sex addiction who isn't afraid of the voice in Noah’s head. As bonds are made and long-held secrets are revealed, Noah is not the only one who will find healing.
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Praise for The Enumerations
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“This book is a blessing. [...] Fisher has gone with a largesse of heart into the deep dark with characters who society so easily flings into our ‘DSM 5 Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ and presents them as spirited, heroic individuals who, like all of us, are trying their very best but find themselves at the far end of the suffering spectrum. [...] The Enumerations is not only luminous with love and elegantly written but meticulously researched. This combination of gifts makes it not only a powerful read but a deeply healing book for people and families who are struggling with psychological ‘conditions’ or the condition of being, well, human." – The Reading List (South Africa)
“A triumphant, hopeful work of fiction, and Fisher deserves commendation for writing about such a difficult, stigmatised topic in a creative and gripping way.” – LitNet (South Africa)
“Fisher has created in both story lines a compelling and sensitive story about families with problems. [...] Fisher has a deft hand in writing about adolescents. She pens her characters with a sure hand that honours their pain and suffering without any condescension. [...] A tragic delight
(if such a thing exists)... an unsentimental but real story about the dark that surrounds the most seemingly successful and ordinary people. This is a novel not to be missed.” – Cape Times (South Africa
AUTHOR Máire Fisher
Máire Fisher is a writer, writing mentor and editor. Her first novel, Birdseye, was published in
South Africa in 2014 by Penguin Random House. Her second, The Enumerations, was published
in South Africa by Umuzi in August 2018. Máire’s work has been published in several
anthologies including Incredible Journey, Just Keep Breathing: South African Birth Stories,
Twist: Short Stories Inspired by Tabloid Headlines, Women Flashing and Writing the Self. She
was born in Zambia, educated in Zimbabwe, and currently resides in South Africa, where she
runs several renowned writing workshops. The Enumerations is her North American debut.
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