Published in paperback 3rd October 2024 by Magpie.
From the cover of the book:
High school sweethearts, Sarah and Warren, have grand plans for an adventurous future together, but when a misunderstanding causes them to part ways, they end up marrying other people.When they meet again at sixty, their lives have been carved into very different shapes. Sarah lives outside New York; Warren lives in Boston. Sarah is divorced, Warren still married, and both have grown up children. When they reconnect, they feel the rekindled spark of love and desire - a spark that has been dead for so long.
But are they willing to risk destroying all that they have built separately for the chance of a future together?
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Sarah and Warren were high-school sweethearts, but a misunderstanding led to them parting during their college years. Both went on marry other partners and settle into family life. Now sixty-years-old, their lives have taken different paths, but a chance meeting between them at the opera gives them pause for thought.
Sarah is divorced and although a busy mother and grandmother with lots of outside interests, she is often lonely in her large house just outside New York. The thought of being with Warren again is tempting. For Warren, in Boston, things are more complicated. To all intents and purposes his long marriage is a happy one - at least in the eyes of his wife and daughter, but he cannot get Sarah out of his mind. What would they be willing to risk to be together?
Leaving is a heart-breaking novel that examines many different facets of what 'leaving' means, through the eyes of former lovers who meet again in later life. The story unfurls through the points of view of Sarah and Warren, who realise that the spark between them has never died, despite not having seen each other for a considerable number of years, and having followed completely separate lives.
As a divorcee, Sarah is easily able to put aside her concern for Warren's marital state for a second chance at happiness, but there are still hard decisions to be made that are not immediately evident. While, for Warren, the necessity of breaking up his stale marriage to pursue a life with Sarah is bound to be difficult, he is unprepared for the acrimony this leads to from not just his wife, but unexpectedly, from the grown daughter he thought would be understanding. No matter how sure they are that they belong together, things are more complicated than they thought, and the sacrices required might just be too hard.
Robinson's writing is staggeringly beautiful and evokes a wealth of intense emotions as she follows Sarah and Warren's painful journey. Soaring hearts and rekindled passions are all consuming at first, but when the couple have to get into the nitty-gritty of the things they must leave behind in order to be together, their idealistic dreams take a pounding - and interestingly this is not just about the impact of betrayal and hurt feelings on Warren's family and what this means for his future, but also how this affects Sarah's view of the things and places she has learned to find comfort in since her divorce, which I found very thought provoking.
This is one of those incredible books that you know will stay with you for ever, not just for the immensely powerful threads of yearning and heartbreak that are the riveting focus of Sarah and Warren's story. Robinson cleverly delves into other aspects of leaving and loss around multi-generational relationships that really resonate too. I loved how she weaves in Sarah's poignant memories of her parents, and the utterly compelling parallel story that plays out with her daughter left me breathless. Be prepared for tears...
Leaving is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback and ebook.
Thank you to Oneworld for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
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