Gaining Ground

Beneath the radical disquiet is a beautiful hymn to the hearts and minds of women' Sarah HallI swear I loved them all, and I did the best I could. And then I left them, left all of it. Abra has a perfect-seeming life as a wife and mother: until one day, she walks away, leaving only a note asking her family not to look for her.

In a woodland cabin, her new life alone begins. There are no mirrors, no clocks, no memories: just the squirrels breathing in the forest, and silence of vegetables growing. Years later, a young woman arrives, and the past-flashes begin.

Daughter? A strange word. Is this her? And what will this mean?Joan Barfoot's Gaining Ground is a both a provocative meditation on living on your own terms and an exquisite work of art. It calls to anybody who has ever wanted to escape - who has asked what it costs to be wild, to be sane, to be free.