'The kind of book that gives you hope and courage. I loved it' Kit de Waal
'Insightful, thoughtful' Carys Bray
'I relished every word' Shelley Harris
'Such a warm and touching novel' Lissa Evans
A moving and courageous exploration of belonging and finding home in a rapidly-changing world from the critically acclaimed author of Shelter.
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.
Genre: Literary Fiction
'Insightful, thoughtful' Carys Bray
'I relished every word' Shelley Harris
'Such a warm and touching novel' Lissa Evans
A moving and courageous exploration of belonging and finding home in a rapidly-changing world from the critically acclaimed author of Shelter.
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.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
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Used availability for Sarah Franklin 2's How to Belong