Strangers
A Memoir of Marriage
-
-
4.4 • 2.9K Ratings
-
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Burden’s searing, probing memoir explores . . . what she learned about intimacy and her own spirit.”—People
“A beautifully written instant classic. Strangers is gripping and heartbreaking and a must-read for every wife—and husband.”—Graydon Carter
“Asks us to examine life’s most perplexing questions: Can we see the invisible fault lines in a marriage or truly know the people closest to us?”—Lori Gottlieb
FINALIST FOR THE NEW ENGLAND BOOK AWARD • GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD NOMINEE
It was a great love story, one for the ages. The speed of our beginning and the speed of our ending felt like matching bookends. They both came out of nowhere. He wanted it, he wanted me. And then he didn’t.
In March 2020, Belle Burden was safe and secure with her family at their house on Martha’s Vineyard, navigating the early days of the pandemic together—building fires in the late afternoons, drinking whisky sours, making roast chicken. Then, with no warning or explanation, her husband of twenty years announced that he was leaving her. Overnight, her caring, steady partner became a man she hardly recognized. He exited his life with her like an actor shrugging off a costume.
In Strangers, Burden revisits her marriage, searching for clues that her husband was not who she always thought he was. As she examines her relationship through a new lens, she reckons with her own family history and the lessons she intuited about how a woman is expected to behave in the face of betrayal. Through all of it, she is transformed. The discreet, compliant woman she once was—someone nicknamed “Belle the Good”—gives way to someone braver, someone determined to use her voice.
With unflinching honesty and profound grace, Burden charts a path through heartbreak to show the power of a woman who refuses to give up on love. Strangers is a stunning, deeply moving, compulsively readable memoir heralding the arrival of a thrilling new literary talent.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This is one of the most emotionally intimate memoirs we’ve read in ages. A week into the 2020 pandemic shutdowns, Belle Burden and her husband, James, were quarantining with their three children when a voicemail turned her world upside down. The caller was another woman’s husband, informing Belle that their spouses were having an affair—and his wife had just attempted suicide. Within days, Belle’s husband of two decades walked out on their family without remorse or explanation. She tells the story of her despair and eventual rebuilding without self-pity, even as she recounts her husband’s shocking coldness (which included rejecting even partial custody of their kids). We were moved by Belle’s devotion to her children and fascinated by her unflinching examination of a marriage she’d thought she understood. Expanded from a viral 2023 New York Times Modern Love column, Strangers is a powerful memoir about heartbreak and self-discovery.
Customer Reviews
A meticulously dissected retelling of a sudden spousal abandonment and subsequent divorce.
Belle is clear from the outset that this memoir is a one-sided account of the aftermath of an unexpected infidelity and separation. The writing is excellent and Belle seems to bend over backward to be as fair as possible, examining all sides. Despite this, it is in fact her own internalization of those events, in the best way possible. It is raw, insecure, emotional, and overtly human. Burden documents this real experience in a way that will undoubtedly resonate with those who have gone through it.
vulnerable and thought provoking
it took me a while to finish this book but i am honestly so glad with this read. i understood this through the lens of being a child who went through an abrupt change like this. throughout the book, i tried to step into my own mothers shoes. belle really showed how the grief forms, not just for the relationship but as well as the person one was prior to spending so much time with some, creating a family together. thank you for this, i think in my own way i was able to grieve but at the same time be happy and keep the memories good instead of bad. “he wasn’t controlling our future” really sticks with me. definitely recommend to read!
Strangers
I heard about this book on an Oprah podcast. Having recently divorced, I had not read anything about divorce of any sort so I thought I would give it a whirl. The validation for my feelings, emotions and grief were so right on. I felt as if I had a friend a long my side explaining everything I went through. I highly recommend this book if you have been through a divorce or want to understand and support someone dealing with divorce.