Is it ever too late to figure out who you were meant to be?

As children, Hester and Elias were inseparable. Every year, their families would spend the summer together at their beach huts on a wild and windswept sandbank, where the two of them never left each other’s side.

But childhood friendships can stretch and warp as you grow up, and in the summer of 1976, the year they turned 14, Hester did a terrible thing that would shatter both of their lives.

For her 60th birthday, Hester goes back to her family’s beach hut to hide from the husband she wants to leave and the daughters she’s never fully understood. It is here that she finally faces up to what she did that fateful summer, wondering whether it’s ever too late to become the person you were meant to be. And if there’s still a chance of finding Elias again…

From the Costa-shortlisted author of The Other Half of Augusta Hope, All My Mothers and Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly, this is a raw and sweeping novel about the power of a dark secret, the resilience of love and the possibility of redemption.

‘Exquisitely beautiful and so perceptive’ JOANNA CANNON

From the Costa-shortlisted author of THE OTHER HALF OF AUGUSTA HOPE and ALL MY MOTHERS

Can two lost people find each other?

The story of two people who have no idea how to fall in love?

On two Northumbrian islands joined by a bridge at low tide, Addie and Sol draw comfort from the migrating birds and vast ocean around them. Every day they dream of escape.

Introverts with turbulent pasts and wary hearts, they are both drawn to Nature far more than to people – until they catch sight of each other in the wild.

Can they break free from their inhibitions and risk a better future together?

‘A mini-holiday in itself, and an adorable ode to the romance of the awkward, the shy and the uncertain’ LOUISA YOUNG

‘This utterly enchanting novel took my breath away? genius’ DINAH JEFFERIES

‘Mesmerising? one of our favourite authors’ WOMAN & HOME, Book of the Month

GLOWING READER REVIEWS

‘Absolutely stunning’ ??????????

‘Beautifully written, it needs to be read slowly and savoured’ ??????????

‘A deliciously awkward and incredibly beautiful meeting of two souls’ ??????????

‘This book stole my heart’ ??????????

‘A wonderful book about love, grief, hope, belonging and compromise’ ??????????

‘Exquisitely beautiful and so perceptive’ JOANNA CANNON

From the Costa-shortlisted author of THE OTHER HALF OF AUGUSTA HOPE and ALL MY MOTHERS

The story of two people who have no idea how to fall in love?

On the tiny island of Rokesby, Addie helps her mother run a women’s retreat. Dreaming daily of escape, she consoles herself by swimming in the ocean that surrounds them.

On the neighbouring island, joined to Rokesby by a bridge at low tide, Sol has sought refuge at a wind-swept prayer house, grieving both his mother’s death and his father’s devastating betrayal. Alone and anxious, he takes comfort in birdwatching, books and the sounds of the sea.

Introverts with turbulent pasts and wary hearts, Sol and Addie are both drawn to nature far more than to people – until they catch sight of one another in the wild. Can they break free from past lessons in love to risk a better future together?

From the Costa-shortlisted author of THE OTHER HALF OF AUGUSTA HOPE and ALL MY MOTHERS, this is a beautifully observed and life-affirming novel about finding yourself, and then allowing someone else to find you.

GLOWING READER REVIEWS

‘Absolutely stunning’ ??????????

‘Beautifully written, it needs to be read slowly and savoured’ ??????????

‘A deliciously awkward and incredibly beautiful meeting of two souls’ ??????????

‘This book stole my heart’ ??????????

‘A wonderful book about love, grief, hope, belonging and compromise’ ??????????

‘Uniquely witty, beautifully observed, intricately woven’ MIRANDA HART

‘A truly glorious life-affirming book, in which love, hope and friendship trump sorrow’ DINAH JEFFERIES

‘Had me absolutely sobbing – a beautiful, beautiful book’ JO BROWNING WROE, bestselling author of A TERRIBLE KINDNESS

‘Worth every tear’ WOMAN & HOME

‘Exquisitely tender, powerfully compelling’ SARAH HAYWOOD

‘One of my new all-time favourite books – an absolute joy’ JULIETTA HENDERSON

‘Thoughtful, warm and engaging’ CHRISTINA SWEENEY-BAIRD

‘Honest, heartfelt and hopeful’ MARIANNE CRONIN

‘A joy to read’ ANNE YOUNGSON

‘A love song to women everywhere’ ERICKA WALLER

MEET EVA MARTÍNEZ-GREEN, AN ONLY CHILD FULL OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HER BEGINNINGS.

Between her emotionally absent mother and her physically absent father, there is nobody to answer them. Eva is convinced that all is not as it seems. Why are there no baby pictures of her? Why do her parents avoid all questions about her early years?

When her parents’ relationship crumbles, Eva begins a journey to find these answers for herself. Her desire to discover where she belongs leads Eva on a journey spanning decades and continents – and, along the way, she meets women who challenge her idea of what a mother should be, and who will change her life forever?

‘A glorious journey into loving & longing’ ANSTEY HARRIS

‘Heartrending and heartwarming’ CELIA ANDERSON

‘Exquisite’ JESSICA RYN

‘A deep delight of a book that vibrates with love and longing’ HELEN PARIS
________________________________________________________

Praise for Joanna Glen’s debut novel, The Other Half of Augusta Hope:

‘A therapeutic dose of high-strength emotion’ GUARDIAN

‘Entertains and moves in equal measure’DAILY MAIL

‘Keep the tissues close’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

‘An irresistible message of redemption and belonging’RED magazine

‘Heartening and hopeful’ JESS KIDD

‘Mesmerizingly beautiful’ SARAH HAYWOOD

‘An extraordinary masterpiece’ ANSTEY HARRIS

‘Uniquely witty, beautifully observed, intricately woven’ MIRANDA HART

‘A truly glorious life-affirming book, in which love, hope and friendship trump sorrow’ DINAH JEFFERIES

‘Worth every tear’ WOMAN & HOME

‘Both exquisitely tender and powerfully compelling’ SARAH HAYWOOD

‘Thoughtful, warm and engaging. Unlike anything I’ve read before – divine’ CHRISTINA SWEENEY-BAIRD

‘Honest, heartfelt and hopeful’ MARIANNE CRONIN

‘A joy to read’ ANNE YOUNGSON

‘A love song to women everywhere’ ERICKA WALLER

MEET EVA MARTÍNEZ-GREEN, AN ONLY CHILD FULL OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HER BEGINNINGS.

Between her emotionally absent mother and her physically absent father, there is nobody to answer them. Eva is convinced that all is not as it seems. Why are there no baby pictures of her? Why do her parents avoid all questions about her early years?

When her parents’ relationship crumbles, Eva begins a journey to find these answers for herself. Her desire to discover where she belongs leads Eva on a journey spanning decades and continents – and, along the way, she meets women who challenge her idea of what a mother should be, and who will change her life forever?

‘A glorious journey into loving & longing, rich with colour & warmth’ ANSTEY HARRIS

‘Heartrending and heartwarming’ CELIA ANDERSON

‘The most exquisitely written story of human love in all its forms’ JESSICA RYN

‘A deep delight of a book that vibrates with love and longing’ HELEN PARIS
________________________________________________________

Praise for Joanna Glen’s debut novel, The Other Half of Augusta Hope:

‘A therapeutic dose of high-strength emotion’ GUARDIAN

‘Entertains and moves in equal measure’ DAILY MAIL

‘Keep the tissues close’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

‘An irresistible message of redemption and belonging’ RED magazine

‘Heartening and hopeful’ JESS KIDD, author of Things in Jars

‘Mesmerizingly beautiful’ SARAH HAYWOOD, author of The Cactus

‘An extraordinary masterpiece’ ANSTEY HARRIS, author of The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton

‘A therapeutic dose of high-strength emotion’ GUARDIAN

*JOANNA GLEN'S LATEST NOVEL MAYBE, PERHAPS, POSSIBLY IS OUT NOW*

Augusta Hope has never felt like she fits in.

At six, she’s memorising the dictionary. At seven, she’s correcting her teachers. At eight, she spins the globe and picks her favourite country on the sound of its name: Burundi.

And now that she's an adult, Augusta has no interest in the goings-on of the small town where she lives with her parents and her beloved twin sister, Julia.

When an unspeakable tragedy upends everything in Augusta's life, she's propelled headfirst into the unknown. She's determined to find where she belongs – but what if her true home, and heart, are half a world away?

‘It’s going to be all over every book club in Britain before you can say Burundi’THE TIMES

‘Full of the reality of hope and despair in everyone’s lives’ MIRANDA HART

‘This gem of a novel entertains and moves in equal measure‘ DAILY MAIL

‘Keep the tissues close‘ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

‘An irresistible message of redemption and belonging‘ RED magazine

‘Heartening and hopeful‘ JESS KIDD, author of Things in Jars

‘Mesmerizingly beautiful‘ SARAH HAYWOOD, author of The Cactus

‘An extraordinary masterpiece‘ ANSTEY HARRIS, author of The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton

‘Gutsy, endearing and entertaining’ DEBORAH ORR

‘Absolutely brilliant’ GAVIN EXTENCE, author of The Universe Versus Alex Wood