Strangers

A Memoir of Marriage

By: Belle Burden

Narrated by: Belle Burden

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Burden’s searing, probing memoir explores . . . what she learned about intimacy and her own spirit.”—People​​

“A beautifully written instant classic. Strangers is gripping and heartbreaking and a must-read for every wife—and husband.”—Graydon Carter

“Asks us to examine life’s most perplexing questions: Can we see the invisible fault lines in a marriage or truly know the people closest to us?”—Lori Gottlieb

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.

Outstanding!

If you or anyone in your family has been abandoned by a spouse this is the book for you. The author does a brilliant job of reporting her story as she experienced it without being vindictive or overly sentimental. She writes clearly about what happened, what she did, what helped, what didn’t. Her writing alone makes the book worth reading. I haven’t written a review in years but felt this book deserved it. Hats off to you Belle for weathering your storm. I look forward to future books from you.

Riveting story of betrayal and healing

Such a fascinating account of what happens when everything you think you knew falls apart. She is so honest and straightforward about her life, an extremely privileged life to be sure, but anyone who goes through infidelity in a marriage will identify with her pain. Her writing pulled me in from the first paragraph, and I was very moved by her attempts to make sense of her life as she picks up the pieces.

More depth than you might expect

I had questions and doubts about someone who chose to make public the details of a marriage. However, Belle Burden has clearly done a lot of work to understand herself and to reflect on her motivations. This book is beautifully written and, in the end, expresses love for her whole family, including her estranged husband.

Truthful examination of marriage

I appreciate the author’s honesty and ability to illustrate the depth of personal pain and confusion of infidelity and divorce with honest recollection of the wonderful parts of a marriage that ended unexpectedly.

Great, honest account. A good lesson in it too.

Loved it! Talented writer. Great cautionary tale.


Only tiny issue is that between part 2 and 3 she never goes into detail about the moment he said he was leaving. They went from happy to him leaving on the seaplane-no exact detail of the moment he told her he was leaving. I thought I missed a chapter. Other than that 10/10. Wish her all the best, go Belle!