The One Remaining by Paula McLean

Hilary Mason is thirteen when her sister Elaine disappears. She fears someone close to the family is involved but represses her suspicions.

As an adult, Hilary becomes a successful novelist. In her fifties, she comes upon a stack of her old diaries, which document the trauma she’s endured. She decides she is ready to face the hidden backstory of her life.

She embarks on writing a memoir, Hilary’s Story, which will take her through her worst years and her best years, through courage and endurance, through friendship and great love.

The One Remaining is a captivating story of overcoming loss, finding the courage to trust those who believe in us, and the self-healing power of writing our stories.

‘The One Remaining is a wise, beautiful and moving novel about the whole of a woman’s life. I lived with the main character Hilary through her griefs, suffering and great joys. I cried as I read, then I wiped my eyes and smiled. McLean shows us how surviving loss and trauma is not linear or clear, but gives a depth and richness to life nonetheless.’ Sophie Gee, The Secret Life of Books podcast

A searing and lyrical novel about memory, silence, and the lasting impact of a sister’s disappearance.

About the Author:

Paula McLean is the immediate past Deputy Chair and Patron of the Stella Prize, and now a NSW Ambassador. She is on the board of the Country Education Foundation, a member of the She Gives Advisory Group and a trustee of McLean Foundation, which supports conservation, education, domestic violence and literature. She began the Nature Writing Prize, administered by The Nature Conservancy Australia. A former fiction and educational publishing editor, Paula is also the author of Good Foods for Babies and Toddlers.

01 Oct 2025
 

The One Remaining by Paula McLean ISBN 9780646718279