by: Belle Burden
Goodreads Synopsis:
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.
Helen says: 🤓🤓🤓🤓 1/2
I thought this book was just fantastic. It was so well written! I really felt for Belle Burden. It’s like her husband just flipped a switch…so cruel. I listened on audible and was rapt. I was on a flight and kept my AirPods in long after I landed because I just had to finish it! This was a cautionary tale about putting your faith and trust (and your trust fund for that matter) in your husband without paying attention to your tax return. She got screwed. For a deeper dive on Burden’s famous family, I suggest reading the short story, La Cote Basque, 1965 by Truman Capote and viewing Feud: Capote vs. The Swans on FX/hulu. That should keep you occupied for a while.
Holly says: 🤓🤓🤓🤓1/4
Definitely my favorite book of the month! I believe this is a must read – if only for the life lessons that can be learned from Belle Burden’s memoir of her marriage; however, the writing is so direct and clear, and the story is riveting and compelling. I’ll reserve my comments about James – decide for yourself. I read it in two days because I couldn’t put it down (and it’s short). Highly recommended!
Helen and Holly Hit the Books 