“The nonexistence of safety is the silken thread woven throughout The Healer. That safety is not to be found in the heart of man, or of woman—not found even in a wilderness. But a wilderness is by definition a place where quietude exists. Mr. Hollingshead shows us that the wilderness is also a place fraught with danger. Love in this novel also does not possess the guarantee of being safe. The Healer, written with intelligence, has a wide canvas of appeal and perspective on which the author has painted characters of brilliant and staggering beauty. It was a unanimous choice." — 1998 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize Jury (Joan Clark, Trevor Ferguson, and Austin Clarke)