Carpenter's new book, Silence is about Nick, a young veteran who returns from Iraq to his hometown on the coast of Maine after an IED explosion has killed his entire crew and left him deaf. Struggling with trauma and loneliness, haunted by images of combat, Nick finds work on a private island where a wealthy family is building a resort. Silence has won the 2022 Gold IPPY award for Military/Wartime Fiction.

Carpenter grew up in Waterville, and taught at College of the Atlantic for 48 years. The Maine State Legislature honored him with a “legislative sentiment,” for his notable achievements.