Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage

Hardback Published on: 15/01/2026
Price: £18.99
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Synopsis

THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The empowering, must-read memoir of the end of a marriage and the start of a personal revolution, perfect for readers of Glennon Doyle and Miranda July.

AS SEEN ON THE OPRAH WINFREY PODCAST
A BEST BOOK FOR SUMMER FOR THE GUARDIAN, SUNDAY TIMES, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, BRITISH VOGUE, AND MORE!
SET TO BE A MAJOR NETFLIX PRODUCTION STARRING GWYNETH PALTROW

'A beautifully written eulogy for the loss of a relationship' Joyce Carol Oates, award-winning author of Blonde

‘More than a memoir of divorce, it is a powerful testament to reclaiming voice, power, and joy.’ Adrienne Brodeur, bestselling author of Wild Game

‘So engaging, so addictive’Vogue

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How do we go on when a loved one betrays us?

On a chilly day in March of 2020, in the early days of the pandemic, Belle Burden’s husband of twenty years announced, with no prior warning, that he was leaving her.

His decision shocked Belle to her core: she believed he was a happy man, a committed partner, and a devoted father to their three children. She thought he was a man who had settled into the life he had always wanted: a successful career, summers spent at their beloved home on Martha’s Vineyard, lots of tennis.

Overnight, he transformed from her steady companion into a stranger.

As she pieces her life together in the wake of a loss she had never imagined coming, she finds she is much stronger than she ever expected. Belle reflects on her transformation from a shy, quiet girl, nicknamed ‘Belle the Good’ to a powerful, brave, determined woman. A woman who has learned to use her voice to expose the patriarchal structures that have forced women to be discreet and compliant for far too long.

Based on Belle’s popular ‘Modern Love’ essay,Was I Married to a Stranger?, this is the emotional and empowering memoir of self-discovery and what it means to finally be heard.

Praise for Strangers:
'A beautifully written eulogy for the loss of a relationship' Joyce Carol Oates, award-winning author of Blonde

‘Incredibly, incredibly well done. I inhaled it’ Zara McDonald, host of 'Shameless'

‘A beautifully written instant classic. Strangers is gripping and heartbreaking and a must-read for every wife-and husband.’ Graydon Carter, bestselling author of When The Going Was Good

‘A beautiful memoir: Hard-won, incandescently honest, and ultimately affirming.’ Elise Loehnen, bestselling author of On Our Best Behavior

‘If you've ever been ghosted, gaslit or dumped by text, this divorce memoir is the book you need to read’ Good Housekeeping

‘I devoured Strangers in about two days, greedily absorbing every twist and painful turn … I loved it.’ Telegraph

'Beautiful [and] devastating ... Strangers reads with all the momentum and colour of water-tight literary fiction' British Vogue

‘Has the pacing of a true crime novel, while being deeply personal and evocatively written.’ The Independent

‘A game-changer in the conversations and attitudes around infidelity’ Irish Independent

Publisher information

  • Publisher: Ebury Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781529936117
  • Number of pages: 256
  • Dimensions: 225 x 146 x 30 mm
  • Weight: 358g
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

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Strangers
Honest and heartbreaking
Memoir about the end of a marriage and the aftershocks throughout the family. Well written and I could sense the writer’s determination to be as even hande... READ MORE
Angela  Varley
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
Strangers
Memoir of a marriage breakdown
Strangers has had a lot of publicity before and since its publication. I found it a well written memoir of the breakdown of a marriage although I did wonde... READ MORE
Lucille Grant
Strangers
Different
This is a very different book, classed as non-fiction as it's the true story of a breakdown of a marriage. It is a story that many women are familiar wi... READ MORE
Mags
Strangers
When the one who says they love you, LEAVES
A very powerful story about moving on after the one who says they love you, leaves. To me, the story is definitely a roller coaster as Belle describes her... READ MORE
Regina Mastrogiacomo
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
Strangers
Raw Memoir
Belle Burden has written an honest and raw memoir about the sudden breakdown in her marriage. How the husband she had been with for over twenty years sudde... READ MORE
Trina Dixon
Strangers
Deeply personal and beautifully written
Strangers by Belle Burden reads like a modern-day Heartburn by Nora Ephron, but with a far rawer emotional register. Where Ephron used wit as both shield a... READ MORE
Ophelia Gartside
Strangers
honest and heart breaking account of a sudden marriage dissolution
An honest and heart breaking account of a sudden marriage dissolution. When your husband of 20 years suddenly walks out on you and your 3 children. Cuttin... READ MORE
Helen Wilkinson
Strangers
Five stars!
Strangers is a beautifully written and emotionally resonant book that explores the sudden collapse of a long marriage and the slow, painful process of rebu... READ MORE
The Secret Book Review
Strangers
Interesting insights
Overall I enjoyed this book although I did feel rather like a voyeur; I don't know the author or her family but I was reading intimate details of her marri... READ MORE
ANNE ROGERS
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
Strangers
Emotional rollercoaster
An emotional book of how the authors life changed following her husband's affair and the subsequent divorce. A rollercoaster of a book with the emotional t... READ MORE
Richard Angrave
Strangers
Devastating implosion of a marriage
This is a brilliant but, quite frankly, jaw-dropping account of the implosion of Belle Burden's marriage. It took my breath away. Belle and her husband ... READ MORE
Kateoshea
Strangers
Beautifully written and compelling
I wouldn't have expected to describe a memoir detailing the breakdown of a marriage as riveting but this truly is an almost unputdownable book. Belle Bur... READ MORE
Jane Hughes
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
Strangers
Almost cruel in its honesty
Grief takes many forms. Divorce is one of them and hard to reconcile, making closure more difficult. Articulate and elegant, Strangers is almost cruel in ... READ MORE
Jayne Southern
Strangers
Ospreys do it all so much better : instinct stronger than me, me, me.
This is not the kind of book I would generally request but it was the praise for Burden’s writing by Joyce Carol Oates which made me try this, I’m happy I ... READ MORE
Lady Fancifull
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
Strangers
Interesting, thought provoking, doesnt shy away from unpalatable truths
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. 3.5 rounded up to 4. This is a very interesting read about a woman who was ta... READ MORE
am/am/am
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
Strangers
An incredible story of loss and self discovery
Absolutely un-put-downable. Burden writes honestly and openly about the raw and unexplained loss whilst bringing you on her journey of self re discovery. U... READ MORE
Mega  Edwards
Strangers
honest
I liked this book. I am a divorce lawyer and initially picked it up to gain some perspective from the author as many of my clients have also been divorced ... READ MORE
AKH
Strangers
Anger
I want to start by saying that I had no idea Martha's Vineyard was an island. I guess thought it was Martha Stewart's vineyard - no idea why. So I've learn... READ MORE
Emma Lillelund