The New Woman – Charity Norman – Genre – Contemporary
Blurb: Girl meets boy. They fall in love, and they marry.
For thirty years they share one another’s lives.
That should have been the end of the story.
Luke Livingstone is a lucky man. He’s a father and grandfather, a respected solicitor, a pillar of the community. He has a loving wife in Eilish, children who adore him and an idyllic home in the Oxfordshire countryside.
But Luke is struggling with an unbearable secret, one that is close to destroying him. All his life, Luke has hidden the truth about himself – a truth so fundamental that it will shatter his family, rock his community and leave him an outcast.
Luke has nowhere left to run. He must either end his life, or become the woman he knows himself to be – whatever the cost. His family is tested to its limits, as each of them is forced to consider what makes a person essentially themselves. What do you do when you find that your husband – your father, your son – is not who you thought? Can you ever love him again?
A beautiful and dramatic portrayal of a family in turmoil
My Review: A beautifully written book which compassionately deals with gender identity and the ripple effect on all the family. Not an easy read in places, but obviously thoroughly researched when taking into account everyone’s emotional reaction to their father/son/grandfather huge life changing decision. Also rather topical at the moment with Bruce Jenner’s real life announcement.
About the Author: Charity Norman was born in Uganda, the seventh child of missionary parents, and brought up in successive draughty vicarages in Yorkshire and Birmingham. After several years’ travel she became a barrister in the North-east of England, specialising in crime and family law, and later in mediation. In 2002, realising that her three children had barely met her, she took a break from the law and moved with her family to New Zealand. Her debut novel Freeing Grace was published in 2011. After the Fall (Second Chances in Aus/NZ) followed in 2013 and was selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club. The Son-in-Law was also published in 2013. The New Woman was published in 2015 and was selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club (The Secret Life of Luke Livingstone in Aus/NZ).
Charity’s always delighted to hear from readers – find her on Facebook at facebook.com/charitynormanauthor and on Twitter as @charitynorman1
Note: This book is also published under The Secret Life Of Luke Livingstone
