Belle Burden

Winner of the 2026 New England Book Award for Non-Fiction

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.

Praise for Strangers

“Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, is a beautifully written eulogy for the loss of a relationship that had been loving, trusting, ‘traditional’ (in the best, unironic sense of the word)—riveting reading for its heartrending candor. Through an examination of her marriage—and the social expectations that defined it—Belle Burden examines the very nature of intimacy, vulnerability, and, in practical terms, the naïveté of many a young woman who falls in love with a 'perfect' mate. Her questions are not just, What went wrong? But, more fundamentally, What is the nature of human personality? Are we all playing ‘roles?’”

—Joyce Carol Oates, winner of the National Book Award
“As you read Strangers, you'll find yourself asking big questions: Why would a devoted father walk out on his family? What were the signs? How do I prevent this from happening to me? Burden shows that we cannot always understand why people do what they do and that we can learn to live tethered to our own truth instead. This is a beautiful memoir: Hard-won, incandescently honest, and ultimately affirming.”

—Elise Loehnen, New York Times bestselling author of On Our Best Behavior
“Strangers is gripping and heartbreaking and a must-read for every wife—and husband. Beautifully written and with all the earmarks of an enduring classic.”

—Graydon Carter, New York Times bestselling author of When the Going Was Good
“A lyrical and gripping tale of the abrupt end of a seemingly solid and loving marriage. I read Strangers in one weekend. Beyond Burden’s beautiful writing and shocking story, it is a call to feminism. She reminds us: Don’t fall asleep at the wheel, be self-sustaining, stake a claim in what’s yours. Strangers is a woman’s graceful awakening—and one to learn from.”

—Isabel Gillies, New York Times bestselling author of Happens Every Day
“A searing exploration of rebuilding after profound loss. With candor, Belle Burden navigates heartbreak in a way that reshapes rather than restores, crafting a future both unrecognizable and wholly her own. More than a memoir of divorce, it is a powerful testament to reclaiming voice, power, and joy. Burden’s journey speaks to anyone broken by the unimaginable and courageous enough to forge a new beginning.”

—Adrienne Brodeur, New York Times bestselling author of Wild Game
“In reclaiming her voice and story, Burden refuses to keep the silence and make the excuses as implicitly expected by society . . . and she remains charitable and gracious even when she does not have to be. This balance imbues her story with a certain power as both the missing script for would-be commenters and a radical extension of kindness toward herself. A measured, empathetic, and modern response to an enraging callousness.”

—Kirkus Reviews
"In Strangers, Belle Burden writes with piercing honesty about what happens when the life you trusted vanishes overnight -- and the deeper reckoning that follows when the story you’ve lived no longer holds. With astounding compassion, she asks us to examine life's most perplexing questions alongside her: Can we see the invisible fault lines in a marriage or truly know the people closest to us? This is an unforgettable story not just of heartbreak, but of self-recognition—of the quiet courage of learning to live in your own truth.”

— Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

“Strangers is gripping and heartbreaking and a must-read for every wife—and husband. Beautifully written and with all the earmarks of an enduring classic.”