The Burning Side

From the author of The Bright Years comes the story of April and Leo, a couple on the brink of collapse. When their house goes up in flames, family secrets and thorny histories emerge as they are forced to decide what is worth salvaging.

When April and Leoâs house burns in the middle of the night, they escape with their two young children and the quiet knowledge that the fire is not the only thing threatening their family. They retreat to Aprilâs childhood home in Dallas, where her spirited parents and siblings provide both comfort and complication.

As the family reckons with the aftermath â" grief, guilt, logistics and memories scorched and intact â" the fire exposes the cracks already forming in April and Leoâs marriage. The novel unfolds in alternating perspectives: from April, who feels the crushing weight of motherhood, marriage and self-blame; from Leo, a high school history teacher shaped by a lonely, fractured childhood; from Deb, Aprilâs generous and no-nonsense mother who has to contend with her husbandâs recent Alzheimerâs diagnosis; and from flashbacks
that trace April and Leoâs relationship from its earliest days of connection to the devastating decisions that led them here.

A family saga suffused with humour, longing and heartbreak, The Burning Side is about what we inherit and what we choose, about forgiveness and the ache of being known. It is, above all, about the meaning of home and the costs of long love.