StrangersA Memoir of Marriage
Review posted April 9, 2026.
Books on Tape, 2026. 7 hours, 3 minutes. Review written March 31, 2026, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review
I recently read a fictional tale of a divorce that did not ring true for me. Maybe it was just because of different circumstances? But this memoir of divorce (Yes, it's about the marriage - but revisiting it in light of the divorce) rang so true, it made me feel like the author is my soul sister. Yes, the circumstances had lots of differences, but the underlying emotions made me remember how it had been.
Let me also say, right up front, that she ends the book in a good place, getting on with her life, happy about who she is as an individual - and I related to that, too. I think she got there more quickly than I did - but that's where the difference in circumstances made a difference in pace. I ended the book happy for her, but with all my sympathy to her for that tough road.
The story begins on Martha's Vineyard during the pandemic, where Belle and her husband had decided to bring their family from New York City and sit out the danger, which of course everyone thought wouldn't last too long.
Then one day, Belle got a text from an unknown number saying that her husband was having an affair with his wife.
When she confronted her husband (Of course it wasn't true!), he didn't deny it. And the next day, he left the family and went back to New York City. The other woman had attempted suicide, and he wanted to make sure she was okay. He never did come back, except to tell the kids.
After telling about the day that broke her life apart, Belle goes back and tells about their whirlwind romance that led to their marriage of twenty years and three children. When did he stop loving her? Did he ever love her? (Yes, of course he did! That's when she pulls out all the evidence over the years - and her friends saw it clearly.) What did she do wrong? How can he leave everything he built up for their family behind?
I related to every one of those questions. Probably silly, but it made me wish I had been there to help her through them. To tell her that's normal and no, she didn't do anything wrong. (Even if she wasn't perfect. A man having an affair is about the man having an affair.) I would have shown her the book The Script that helped me finally believe it wasn't all my fault (despite what my husband said) and the book Runaway Husbands about sudden abandonment, so she'd know she wasn't alone.
I related to the weight loss, even to doing puzzles at bedtime. My puzzles of choice were killer sudokus, and hers were jigsaw puzzles - but yes, you have to, somehow, shut off your mind. I related to the dreams of him, and the way her heart leapt when she saw him - even when her mind knew better. As she pointed out, it takes some time for your heart to get the message not to love this person anymore.
Now, there were some big differences. She was a stay-at-home mom who did some pro bono legal work before the divorce - and she got to continue to do that after the divorce. (I had to go from working part-time to working full-time, which turned out to be a wonderful thing - I love my job.) I think because her husband left right away, there was less venom between them. That's hard in its own way, but when I found out about my husband's affair, he told me it wasn't an affair - he just needed a friend so went to her house at midnight to watch a movie after a work trip. (And I believed him.) Then he proceeded to continue the affair behind my back for another year and a half. I would get my hopes up that we were working things out - and then I'd find out again that he'd been with her. And then he started being as unkind to me as he possibly could so that I would not get my hopes up. All that is to say that a quick departure must be awful, but so is a long drawn-out one. And I related to her story.
And yes, I fully and completely support Belle Burden telling her story. Yes, it's healing and positive to tell the truth. There's enough hiding and protecting out there. Yes, this is how lives fall apart when a husband breaks his wedding vows. But also - I loved reading about how she got her feet back under her and put her life back together, found new pursuits and new work, and continued on as a strong individual.
I listened to this audiobook obsessively. Her storytelling is superb (A blight upon the student who once told her she couldn't write!), and I felt so much kinship with the situation.
Well done, sister! May you and your children continue to thrive!