Almost Life

Breathtaking, smart and sexy, Almost Life is a story of love and longing, of the lives we almost live and the choices we don't make. 'A moving examination of true love and passion' - The Guardian 'The biggest weepy since One Day' - Stylist 'Emotional and addictive' - The Daily Mail 'A beautifully written exploration of desire, freedom and the roads we do and don't take' - The Observer 'A heart-rending tale of missed chances' - Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain 'Tender, sensual and thrumming with life' - Lucy Steeds, author of The Artist One chance encounter can define a lifetime Erica and Laure meet on the steps of the Sacre-Coeur in Paris, 1978. Erica is a student, relishing her first summer abroad before beginning university at home in England. Laure is studying for her Ph.D. at the Sorbonne, drinking and smoking far too much, and sleeping with a married woman. The moment the two women meet the spark is undeniable. But their encounter turns into far more than a summer of love. It is the beginning of a relationship that will define their lives and every decision they have yet to make. Spanning cities, decades and heartbreaks, fate brings them within touching distance again and again. But will they be brave enough to seize the life they truly want? Author Biography: Kiran Millwood Hargrave (b. 1990) is an award-winning poet, playwright, and novelist. The Mercies was her first novel for adults, and was an instant Sunday Times bestseller. It won a Betty Trask Award, was longlisted for the Jhalak Prize and was named amongst the NYT 100 Most Notable Books of 2020. Her bestselling works for children include The Girl of Ink & Stars and they have won or been short- and long-listed for numerous awards including the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year, Costa Children's Book Award, the Blue Peter Best Story Award and, twice, the CILIP Carnegie Medal. Kiran lives in Oxford with her husband, the artist Tom de Freston, and their rescue cats, Luna and Marly.