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We Were Never Meant to Survive This
Not yet published
Expected 10 Nov 26The end of the world is just the beginning …
Jaime, a web developer in New York City, is disillusioned by both humanity’s dependence on the digital world and his role in it. When a coworker returns from a wilderness survival school in the Catskill Mountains, showing off an arrowhead he made there, Jaime thinks: What the hell, why not?
Making fire with sticks, butchering animals, crafting a bow—these are a just few of the things Jaime learns. He also learns about Day Zero, an apocalyptic theory of the school’s mysterious and magnetic founder, a woman known simply as A. As Jaime becomes captivated with A, Day Zero, the end of civilization, occurs. It is the day A and her followers have been prepping—and wishing — for.
But as the post-apocalypse days grow, so do A’s attempts to control her followers. She will do anything to see her vision become a reality, even as blood starts to spill. And as things begin to fray, Jaime sees signs that Day Zero might not quite be what they think it is …
Jaime, a web developer in New York City, is disillusioned by both humanity’s dependence on the digital world and his role in it. When a coworker returns from a wilderness survival school in the Catskill Mountains, showing off an arrowhead he made there, Jaime thinks: What the hell, why not?
Making fire with sticks, butchering animals, crafting a bow—these are a just few of the things Jaime learns. He also learns about Day Zero, an apocalyptic theory of the school’s mysterious and magnetic founder, a woman known simply as A. As Jaime becomes captivated with A, Day Zero, the end of civilization, occurs. It is the day A and her followers have been prepping—and wishing — for.
But as the post-apocalypse days grow, so do A’s attempts to control her followers. She will do anything to see her vision become a reality, even as blood starts to spill. And as things begin to fray, Jaime sees signs that Day Zero might not quite be what they think it is …
- GenresHorror
300 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication November 10, 2026
About the author
Jesse Sherwood
1 bookJesse Sherwood is a writer from Western New York. He is the author of We Were Never Meant to Survive This and has been published in The Saturday Evening Post, Guernica, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 16, 2026
4.5 stars, rounded up!
This was a fascinating, easy-to-read fever dream of a book. I finished it in record time, and didn’t want to put it down!
Jamie is our main character, a man who works in tech, is a bit of a loner, and finds himself at a wilderness camp after years of isolation and disconnection from the world taking its toll.
He is quickly caught up in the day to day life of the camp and after recognizing he is finding fulfillment in ways he never dreamed of, he decides to stay for three months.
The leader of the camp, a mysterious, quite fanatical woman named A, draws Jamie (and the others) in. She speaks of the downfalls of technology, the increase of disconnection from nature and other humans, and of an impending “Day Zero.”
The story, much like A, draws you in, and leaves you invested and wanting to know what happens. The characters are funky. Jamie is quite introverted, not really one to rock the boat. The others at the camp are complex, but are all looking for something “more” that somehow, A provides.
It’s a really interesting book. It’s deep without making me feel despair. It’s easy to read, yet full of insights you can see in the world around us.
I liked the idea of this odd, mysterious woman being an enigmatic, deeply loved leader of a “cult” of sorts. I thought her using a Native American name was pretty spot on; she’s a self-deluded cult leader, after all.
The book was well done. The pacing was great, the messaging was cool, and I liked how it felt like a fever dream all the way through.
This was a fascinating, easy-to-read fever dream of a book. I finished it in record time, and didn’t want to put it down!
Jamie is our main character, a man who works in tech, is a bit of a loner, and finds himself at a wilderness camp after years of isolation and disconnection from the world taking its toll.
He is quickly caught up in the day to day life of the camp and after recognizing he is finding fulfillment in ways he never dreamed of, he decides to stay for three months.
The leader of the camp, a mysterious, quite fanatical woman named A, draws Jamie (and the others) in. She speaks of the downfalls of technology, the increase of disconnection from nature and other humans, and of an impending “Day Zero.”
The story, much like A, draws you in, and leaves you invested and wanting to know what happens. The characters are funky. Jamie is quite introverted, not really one to rock the boat. The others at the camp are complex, but are all looking for something “more” that somehow, A provides.
It’s a really interesting book. It’s deep without making me feel despair. It’s easy to read, yet full of insights you can see in the world around us.
I liked the idea of this odd, mysterious woman being an enigmatic, deeply loved leader of a “cult” of sorts. I thought her using a Native American name was pretty spot on; she’s a self-deluded cult leader, after all.
The book was well done. The pacing was great, the messaging was cool, and I liked how it felt like a fever dream all the way through.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Jamie is a web developer who has grown disillusioned with modern society and its dependence on technology. Looking for something more meaningful, he joins a survival school hidden deep in the Catskille Mountains. He throws himself into the concept of survival. learning wilderness skills while becoming increasingly fascinated by the school's leader known only as "A,"who believes an event called Day Zero will bring about the collapse of the civilization and birth of New World. When her prediction comes true and society begins to unravel, the school transforms from a place of preparation into something much darker. As "A" begins to tighten her control and violence begins to erupt, Jamie is forced to question whether survival is worth sacrificing humanity. This premise immediately grabbed my attention. I've always been drawn to survival stories, apocalyptic fiction, cult dynamics, and dystopian settings . The concept of a survival school becoming the backdrop for the collapse of civilization feels timely and unsettling. I also love stories that explore how charismatic leaders can manipulate fear, and "A" seems like the kind of morally complex antagonist who would make this a memorable read . This novel has plenty of suspense, ethical dilemmas, and psychological tension. Jamie's internal conflict of wanting to escape the digital world only to become trapped into something potentially even more dangerous is a compelling character arc. This book is perfect for our current world climate and may give you chills. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys dystopian stories. I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my opinion and thoughts. Im giving this 4 stars!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
arc from netgalley.
i had high hopes for this book, but i realized very early on that i really do not think i’m the target audience.
i did not enjoying the ‘technology bad’ messaging. jaime as a character was not likable, just pretentious and self important. i had thought he’d get better as i read. he did not.
i did not enjoy how jaime CONSTANTLY told us of things that occurred later. he learned something later or a quote from a that came later. why? the narrative choice did not make sense to me.
there’s a bit of a misogynistic tone to this book that i’m not a fan of. i also don’t like that the main female character is a white woman with a navajo name. it’s interesting because jaime is judgmental about the way that the world works, but he seemed to see nothing strange about a white blonde woman having taken a name from a navajo legend. when bo mentioned it, HE was treated as the odd person for having an issue with it. bo was actually the only character i liked in the book and i do almost wonder if it was an intentional choice.
there was so much more show rather than tell utilized in this novel. by about a third of the way through, i realized we were getting nothing introspective about jaime other than he has a dead dad that sometimes sort of bothers him when the plot calls for it.
i would not recommend this book to anyone. i guess i’d give it two stars because i finished it and there were no glaringly egregious qualities, but i did not enjoy it at all.
i had high hopes for this book, but i realized very early on that i really do not think i’m the target audience.
i did not enjoying the ‘technology bad’ messaging. jaime as a character was not likable, just pretentious and self important. i had thought he’d get better as i read. he did not.
i did not enjoy how jaime CONSTANTLY told us of things that occurred later. he learned something later or a quote from a that came later. why? the narrative choice did not make sense to me.
there’s a bit of a misogynistic tone to this book that i’m not a fan of. i also don’t like that the main female character is a white woman with a navajo name. it’s interesting because jaime is judgmental about the way that the world works, but he seemed to see nothing strange about a white blonde woman having taken a name from a navajo legend. when bo mentioned it, HE was treated as the odd person for having an issue with it. bo was actually the only character i liked in the book and i do almost wonder if it was an intentional choice.
there was so much more show rather than tell utilized in this novel. by about a third of the way through, i realized we were getting nothing introspective about jaime other than he has a dead dad that sometimes sort of bothers him when the plot calls for it.
i would not recommend this book to anyone. i guess i’d give it two stars because i finished it and there were no glaringly egregious qualities, but i did not enjoy it at all.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Post-apocalyptic, dystopian with a sprinkling of culty vibes…I was all in. The story follows Jaime, a social media manager in NYC, who connects with a wilderness school under the leadership of charismatic survivalist. The story follows an apocalyptic event and is broken into past and present story telling. This format helps to keep the action up front and uses the past to fill in the story gaps. The story focuses on the characters and their life within the charismatic sway of the leader, and how humans face immense tragedy and stress. Overall, it’s an interesting story, but I struggled with the pacing and character depth. There are hints at the characters motivations, but they aren’t fleshed out here the story. The pacing stuttered a bit as well. This is a really great addition to the technology apocalypse genre with some religious undertones that confronts the duplicity of ideology in the face of stress.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I love apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, dystopian fiction, so this was right up my street. The slow build of unease was very well done, and I found myself having a hard time putting it down, I had to know what was happening! The book felt incredibly immersive, I could picture the survival school and the Catskills so vividly. It was easy to get swept up alongside the characters, even as things got more tense. A was an interesting character, charismatic enough that you could understand why people follow her, but unsettling enough that you always felt like something terrible was just around the corner. For a debut novel, I was impressed, and I’ll definitely pick up whatever Jesse writes next!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews