January 23, 2017
A woman searches for her true self amid the wreckage of a crumbling marriage and the hollow successes of a burgeoning career in British writer Raverat’s beautiful, fast-paced U.S. debut. Kate Pedley is blindsided when she finds emails written by her husband, Adam, to another woman. She probes their recent past, uncovering secrets she cannot ignore, lies she cannot forgive, and mistakes—on both sides—that she cannot undo. Kate’s career as an executive at a hotel chain becomes a refuge from everything, including her young daughters, who struggle to navigate their new normal. But even Kate’s job is treacherous. As a corporate power game escalates, Kate must stop being a bystander in her own life and decide if she’s the type of person who mends what is broken or makes something new. Raverat’s prose is lyrical and to-the-point, punctuating Kate’s transformation with vivid memories, wisdom from friends, and revelations from unexpected sources. To leave the place where “being seen in despair more painful than the despair itself,” to reach the “outer reaches of love,” Kate strives to find the self she has walled away beneath habit and complacency. Raverat’s portrayal of Kate’s “excavation, unswerving,” into the forgotten, unsung corners of independence is a realistic and moving tale of finding oneself in the tatters of romantic and professional strife.