Beautifully written and extremely moving, this is a probing exploration of what drives a woman to become a mother, told through the prism of the author’s experience in deciding and attempting to adopt a child.

‘Exquisite… a deeply insightful memoir which charts our fundamental longings for place and identity, and ultimately our yearnings for love.’ Helena Kennedy

‘Extremely moving…an unusually thoughtful take on becoming a mother, enabled by removing babyhood and biology.’ Guardian

How to find an outlet for a love that demands expression? Single, in her mid-forties and having experienced a sudden early menopause, the realisation comes to Peggy quietly, and clearly, she decides to adopt a child. But the preparation is arduous and the scrutiny intense. There are questions about past lives, about capability and expectations.

Asking big questions about identity and belonging, as well as about what makes a mother - and a home - this is a beautiful meditation on how the legacies of childhood might be overcome by a mother’s determination to love.

‘A remarkable book…wise and arresting’ Sarah Winman