How to Belong: 'The kind of book that gives you hope and courage' Kit de Waal

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Description

In the follow up to her acclaimed novel Shelter, Sarah Franklin returns to the Forest of Dean, this time exploring what it means to belong to a rural community in a rapidly changing world.

Jo grew up in the Forest of Dean, but she was always the one destined to leave for a bigger, brighter future. When her parents retire from their butcher's shop, she returns to her beloved community to save the family legacy, hoping also to save herself. But things are more complex than the rose-tinted version of life which sustained Jo from afar.

Tessa is a farrier, shoeing horses two miles and half a generation away from Jo, further into the forest. Tessa's experience of the community couldn't be more different. Now she too has returned, in flight from a life she could have led, nursing a secret and a past filled with guilt and shame.

Compelled through circumstance to live together, these two women will be forced to confront their sense of identity, and reconsider the meaning of home.

Reviews

In this insightful, thoughtful novel about a farrier and a butcher, Franklin explores the meaning of home and the importance of belonging. It's replete with gorgeous descriptions of forest life * Carys Bray *
A tender story about finding your place in the world, about ordinary lives, belonging and being brave. The kind of book that gives you hope and courage. I loved it. * Kit de Waal *
Sarah writes intimately about the forest and the lives it sustains, exploring the human condition with forensic tenderness; we feel every step of Tessa and Jo's journeys. It's a big-hearted novel about how we learn to belong despite ourselves, and I relished every word * Shelley Harris, author of Jubilee *
This set up - the farrier and the butcher - is so unusual, and so engaging. I was VERY curious to see how this relationship between Jo and Tessa would unfold, and Sarah Franklin's skilful weaving of their backstories into the captivating present keeps up a constant, subtle tug of intrigue, as well as thematic poignancy. It's thoughtful, and fresh, and such a vibrant setting. The place feels completely alive - I can walk through it and practically smell those horses, that forest, the butcher's shop, the woodsmoke. And the wider community is also wonderfully colourful and alive. It's just a pleasure to read! * Lucy Atkins *
How to Belong is set in the Forest of Dean and is steeped in the spirit of the place. Such a warm and touching novel * Lissa Evans *
This atmospheric read is simply beautiful. * Women and Home Magazine *
A meditative read about second chances, friendship and belonging that feels perfect for these uncertain times...This gentle, thoughtful novel (...) will warm your heart and nourish your soul. * Red Magazine *
(A) thoughtful, original novel... Detailed, descriptive, transporting prose. * Adele Parks, Platinum Magazine *
Such a warm novel with a clear sense of place. * Chepstow Books *
When Jo rents Tessa's spare bedroom, a tentative friendship develops; but Jo's need to be helpful just might be a poisoned chalice. * Saga Magazine *
It really touched me, I can't stop talking about it. Your words spoke to somewhere deep inside me * Warwick Books *
Life-affirming and compelling . . . Sarah Franklin is a breath of fresh air * Clare Mackintosh, on Shelter *
Its characters pulse with life and energy * Daily Mail, on Shelter *
This beautifully crafted tale of survival and solace reveals that you can find a home in the most unusual places * Sunday Express, on Shelter *
An accomplished debut from Sarah Franklin . . . with humour, warmth and a real sense of place * Daily Record, on Shelter *
Beautiful * Adele Parks, on Shelter *
Powerful and moving * Essie Fox, on Shelter *
A wonderful, affecting debut novel about the redemptive power of nature * Red, on Shelter *

Author Bio

Sarah Franklin grew up in rural Gloucestershire and has lived in Austria, Germany, the USA and Ireland. She lectures in publishing at Oxford Brookes University and has written for the Guardian, the Irish Times, Psychologies magazine and The Pool.