Eden Rising Series by Andrew Cunningham

This is an alternate Cover Edition for ASIN: B00DEJZZK4."The Earth died in less than a minute. Maybe that's an exaggeration. It's not like the planet ceased to exist altogether. It just seemed like it. Cities were reduced to rubble. Millions of people died that day. I've since been told that 95% of the Earth's human population was wiped out... moreThis is an alternate Cover Edition for ASIN: B00DEJZZK4."The Earth died in less than a minute. Maybe that's an exaggeration. It's not like the planet ceased to exist altogether. It just seemed like it. Cities were reduced to rubble. Millions of people died that day. I've since been told that 95% of the Earth's human population was wiped out. I don't know if that's true—I mean, who can know that for sure? It's not like we still have any of the technology that we once used to determine such things. But I do know that it was almost empty of people—live ones, that is..."Thus begins the journey of Ben and Lila, two ordinary teenagers forced to rise to extraordinary heights when faced with a world that has suddenly and inexplicably died. Dealing with the sorrow of all they have lost, but the love they have found in each other, they set off on an odyssey that will bring them to the limits of human endurance and face to face with the frailty of their very existence. From the extreme violence of many of the surviving humans toward one another, to a world physically falling apart at the seams, Ben and Lila are determined to make it through the devastation in their quest for a place to quietly share their life together. In the process, they have to become as violent as the world around them in order to survive, while struggling to hold onto the humanity that will keep them sane. Eden Rising is a survival tale and a love story, but it is also a book that delves deeply into the human psyche to discover just how far we would go to survive, and how much inner strength can be found when things are at their absolute worst. less

This is an alternate Cover Edition for ASIN: B00JJ2QN1K.THE SEQUEL TO EDEN RISING! "Seven years ago the world died. I often think about who we were before the catastrophe. I was seventeen, and Lila was a year younger. In so many ways we were both behind others our age in maturity. But then I wonder about that. Were we really? Because somehow we ended up alive when so many other “survivors” of the event couldn’t make it. We learned self-preservation in a hurry... moreThis is an alternate Cover Edition for ASIN: B00JJ2QN1K.THE SEQUEL TO EDEN RISING! "Seven years ago the world died. I often think about who we were before the catastrophe. I was seventeen, and Lila was a year younger. In so many ways we were both behind others our age in maturity. But then I wonder about that. Were we really? Because somehow we ended up alive when so many other “survivors” of the event couldn’t make it. We learned self-preservation in a hurry. We saw some of the worst of humanity and some of the best. Sadly, I think the worst overshadowed the best. But maybe that was what we needed to experience in order to gain the skills and the strength to keep going. Our story of overcoming adversity became a rallying cry for some. 'The Legend of Ben and Lila' was a source of hope for so many. We became folk heroes up and down the east coast. And then we disappeared, finding a quiet home in the Great Smoky Mountains. We never wanted the folk hero label. It was thrust upon us by others—the scared, the needy, and those without hope. In the months following the great catastrophe, we developed the skills to live off the land, to defend ourselves, and to defend others when necessary. Often it was skill, and sometimes we were just lucky. But our luck couldn’t hold out forever…." When a forest fire destroys their beloved forest sanctuary, Ben and Lila, along with their six-year-old daughter Katie and their dog Ralph, head west through the earthquake-ravaged landscape, toward a rumored thriving community in Yellowstone National Park. Along the way, they encounter the changes that have overtaken the world—both to the land and to the remaining survivors of the “event”—changes that are a constant source of danger. But another rumor persists as well, that of a “great evil” in the Midwest—an evil they will have to deal with if they have any hope of making it safely to Yellowstone—to a community they are not even sure really exists. Taking place six years after the events of Eden Rising, Eden Lost follows Ben and Lila on a new journey of discovery, one that presents them with surprises and obstacles that will change their life forever. Six years after finding their peace, Ben and Lila have to re-enter the world. Has it gotten better or become far worse? less