This Could Be Us, Claire McGowan

''So truthful and rewarding'' Ian Rankin, author of the Inspector Rebus series ''Brave, brilliantly structured, and beautifully written'' Laura Barnett, author of The Versions of Us Kate has done the unthinkable. She''d worked hard to build a perfect life for herself, while ignoring her growing unhappiness. But when her second child was born profoundly disabled, reality hit.

Unable to cope, Kate left - disappearing without a trace. She ends up in LA, with a glittering career and a new family of sorts, but the guilt is still suffocating. Husband Andrew was left to pick up the pieces and care for their disabled daughter and angry, confused son.

Bereft and broken, he leaned on Olivia, Kate''s best friend. She''s been by his side ever since, ignoring her own needs to meet his. Years later, Andrew has written a memoir about his daughter learning to communicate against all odds.

But when Kate''s new producer husband decides he wants to make a film of it, their worlds collide once again. Now, Kate must return to the life she abandoned and reckon with what she did. The guilt and the love.

The pain and the hope. In other words, family. Following a fractured family over a period of twenty years, This Could Be Us is an extraordinarily moving story from bestselling author Claire McGowan. ''About halfway through this beautiful, expertly-stitched novel, I thought to myself, ''Every woman needs to read this book''; by the end, I thought, ''every human''.

Moving, thought-provoking and profound, it''s one of my favourite reads of the last few years'' Louise Candlish, author of Our House ''Such a complex and original take on the thorniest sides of families and relationships'' Justin Myers, author of The Last Romeo