When Jessica Reed, her life partner Kaylyn, their five foster daughters, and their family's seven honorary grandmothers inherit a devastating prophecy, they quickly realize that they have neither the skills nor the resources to survive the end of their era. As they prepare to flee to the forest and live as their ancestors did, they must call upon the better part of human nature to band together and subsist in the wilderness. But is collaboration enough? Or do they need a deeper well to draw from to sustain them through this time of disaster? In an age of apprehension about humanity's impact on the earth, Before the Silence , the first book of the Dragon's Flare Chronicles , explores humanity's greatest strength in times of crisis: interconnection, with each other and with the earth. Emotionally resonant, deep-rooted while simultaneously sweeping and tender, Before the Silence plants a seed of hope just when we need it the most.