THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"A powerful story that proves how love itself requires courage." --Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing
Spanning World War II and the sweep of the twentieth century, We Must Be Brave explores the fierce love that we feel for our children and the power of that love to endure. Beyond distance, beyond time, beyond life itself.
A woman. A war. The child who changed everything.
December 1940. As German bombs fall on Southampton, England during World War II, the city's residents flee to the surrounding villages. In Upton village, amid the chaos, newly married Ellen Parr finds a girl asleep, unclaimed at the back of an empty bus. Little Pamela, it seems, is entirely alone.
Ellen has always believed she does not want children, but when she takes Pamela into her home, the child cracks open the past Ellen thought she had escaped and the future she and her husband Selwyn had dreamed for themselves. As the war rages on, love grows where it was least expected, surprising them all. But with the end of the fighting comes the realization that Pamela was never theirs to keep. Spanning the sweep of the twentieth century, We Must Be Brave explores the fierce love that we feel for our children and the power of that love to endure. Beyond distance, beyond time, beyond life itself.
Genre: Historical
"A powerful story that proves how love itself requires courage." --Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing
Spanning World War II and the sweep of the twentieth century, We Must Be Brave explores the fierce love that we feel for our children and the power of that love to endure. Beyond distance, beyond time, beyond life itself.
A woman. A war. The child who changed everything.
December 1940. As German bombs fall on Southampton, England during World War II, the city's residents flee to the surrounding villages. In Upton village, amid the chaos, newly married Ellen Parr finds a girl asleep, unclaimed at the back of an empty bus. Little Pamela, it seems, is entirely alone.
Ellen has always believed she does not want children, but when she takes Pamela into her home, the child cracks open the past Ellen thought she had escaped and the future she and her husband Selwyn had dreamed for themselves. As the war rages on, love grows where it was least expected, surprising them all. But with the end of the fighting comes the realization that Pamela was never theirs to keep. Spanning the sweep of the twentieth century, We Must Be Brave explores the fierce love that we feel for our children and the power of that love to endure. Beyond distance, beyond time, beyond life itself.
Genre: Historical
Praise for this book
"We Must Be Brave by Frances Liardet is a beautifully written story that explores love, loss, resilience, and the bonds of motherhood over the course of the 20th century. A sweeping, heartfelt novel about what it means to truly love a child." - Jillian Cantor
"We Must Be Brave is outstanding: such fine, fine writing, and such a steady, unsentimental gaze at human relationships in all their toughness and fragility. I adored this novel, and will be pressing it into people's hands at every opportunity." - Shelley Harris
"Be prepared to surrender to Liardet's gorgeous prose, her haunting storyline, and the question that will lodge in your heart long after you’ve finished: What would I have done? For anyone who has ever loved a child, this stirring debut will work its way indelibly into the folds of your memory, and of your heart." - Georgia Hunter
"Oh, I loved this book so much! It’s strikingly authentic, beautifully written, and a wonderfully touching depiction of the families people create for themselves when blood relatives let them down. It broke my heart and glued it together again. Just perfect." - Jill Mansell
"We Must Be Brave is a wonderful novel. A beautifully written story of love and loss, with thoughtfully crafted characters and so much to think about long after you’ve finished reading it. It is one of those novels you can talk about for hours the perfect book club read." - AJ Pearce
"This is storytelling at its best. Wise, generous and captivating." - Sarah Winman
"We Must Be Brave is outstanding: such fine, fine writing, and such a steady, unsentimental gaze at human relationships in all their toughness and fragility. I adored this novel, and will be pressing it into people's hands at every opportunity." - Shelley Harris
"Be prepared to surrender to Liardet's gorgeous prose, her haunting storyline, and the question that will lodge in your heart long after you’ve finished: What would I have done? For anyone who has ever loved a child, this stirring debut will work its way indelibly into the folds of your memory, and of your heart." - Georgia Hunter
"Oh, I loved this book so much! It’s strikingly authentic, beautifully written, and a wonderfully touching depiction of the families people create for themselves when blood relatives let them down. It broke my heart and glued it together again. Just perfect." - Jill Mansell
"We Must Be Brave is a wonderful novel. A beautifully written story of love and loss, with thoughtfully crafted characters and so much to think about long after you’ve finished reading it. It is one of those novels you can talk about for hours the perfect book club read." - AJ Pearce
"This is storytelling at its best. Wise, generous and captivating." - Sarah Winman
Similar books by other authors
Used availability for Frances Liardet's We Must Be Brave
Hardback Editions
August 2019 : USA Library Binding
February 2019 : USA Hardback
January 2019 : UK Hardback
Paperback Editions
December 2019 : USA Paperback
October 2019 : UK Paperback
January 2019 : UK Paperback
Audio Editions
February 2019 : Audio CD
February 2019 : USA Audio edition
February 2019 : Canada Audio edition
February 2019 : USA Audio edition

Title: We Must Be Brave
Author(s): Frances Liardet
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Availability: Amazon
February 2019 : Australia Audio edition

Title: We Must Be Brave
Author(s): Frances Liardet
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Availability: Amazon AU
February 2019 : UK Audio edition

Title: We Must Be Brave
Author(s): Frances Liardet
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Availability: Amazon UK
Kindle Editions
February 2019 : USA, Canada Kindle edition
February 2019 : Australia, UK Kindle edition