A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026 IN VOGUE BBC NEW YORK TIMES W MAGAZINE TOWN & COUNTRY 'A
beautifully written eulogy for the loss of a relationship' Joyce Carol Oates 'Beautiful...
devastating ... Strangers reads with all the momentum and colour of water-tight literary
fiction' British Vogue How do we go on when a loved one betrays us? On a chilly day in
March of 2020 in the early days of the pandemic Belle Burden's husband of twenty years
announced with no prior warning that he was leaving her. His decision shocked Belle to her
core: she believed he was a happy man a committed partner and a devoted father to their three
children. She thought he was a man who had settled into the life he had always wanted: a
successful career summers spent at their beloved home on Martha's Vineyard lots of tennis.
Overnight he transformed from her steady companion into a stranger. As she pieces her life
together in the wake of a loss she had never imagined coming she finds she is much stronger
than she ever expected. Exploring the transformation of a shy quiet girl nicknamed 'Belle the
Good' to a powerful brave determined woman who has learned to use her voice to expose the
patriarchal structures that have forced women to be discreet and compliant for far too long
Strangers is a must-read memoir of self-discovery. 'Burden is an elegant writer ... As
Strangers and myriad tv shows attest even the most intimate and long marriages can yield nasty
surprises. In the end how well do you really know the person who lies next to you in bed every
night?' Economist 'A compelling tale of marriage and deception... Strangers raises some
serious questions about the nature of intimacy and what makes a "perfect" marriage ... She
weaves the narrative together deftly: I devoured Strangers in about two days greedily
absorbing every twist and painful turn ... I loved it.' Lucy Denyer Telegraph 'Examines how
we view intimacy how the people closest to us can change without us knowing and how to move
forward in the wake of devastation.' W Magazine 'Burden's sharp personal writing brings
readers deep into her unthinkable circumstances and offers a promise to anyone suffering: you
can make it to the other side.' Town & Country
