by Mary Lawson
First published 2022
Megan Cartwright has spent all twenty-one years of her life in the same small town. In the winter of 1966, she packs her belongings and boards a train bound for London. The city promises everything her hometown cannot: freedom, opportunity, and a chance to build the life she wants. Back home, her departure triggers a cascade of problems within her family. The bonds that held them together begin to weaken and snap. Soon, troubling letters start arriving from home, each one pulling Megan back toward the world she tried to leave behind. She finds herself caught between two powerful forces: her hard-won independence and the family that needs her. The choice she faces will determine not only her future but the fate of those she left behind.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: London, United Kingdom
Period: 1966
384 pages · Paperback · Vintage Digital