Shortlist 2006 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, Prize for an Unpublished Manuscript

A woman wakes from a coma, its cause unknown.

She refuses to see her family; she does not say why.

Slowly, almost reluctantly, she becomes stronger.

Now she will walk.

Where?

Walking to the Moon, Kate Cole-Adams’ enthralling, seductive first novel is both a psychological journey and a piercing exploration of abandonment and loss. A work of striking subtlety and maturity, it is without doubt the start of something special.

This gentle and beautiful novel holds the narrative power of a psychological thriller.
— Ian McFarlane, Canberra Times

Reviews and reactions

Walking to the Moon is a novel of breathtaking lyricism and sensuality. The narrative momentum is faultless, charged with gentle rhythms; pulsations, almost, as if it were bodily. Rebecca Starford, The Age

Cole-Adams resists simplification, exploring instead how the past is remembered, how events are mugged by the subconscious and become confused…a quietly immense novel. – Nicola Walker, Sydney Morning Herald

This temporal, contemplative examination of loss and healing…rewards slow and careful reading... The result is deeply rewarding and there are moments of sheer beauty along the way. – Liam Davidson, The Australian

Cole-Adams’ beautiful prose is a lesson in unhurried writing, with slow, gentle revelations in every chapter. This debut novel is full of promise and she writes with a distinctly Australian voice. – Courier Mail

It's difficult to imagine a novel with a greater degree of narrative integrity, fluent structural intelligence and seemingly effortless power. – Ian McFarlane, Canberra Times