Swift River: 'I loved everything about it' Curtis Sittenfeld (Hardback) - Essie Chambers

A debut novel of first friendships, family secrets and finding the courage to let go, told in a voice full of humour, irreverence and sass

Discover a sweeping story that will break your heart and mend it again, perfect for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing and The Vanishing Half.

'I love a novel this much maybe just once or twice a year.' - Curtis Sittenfeld, author of RODHAM and ROMANTIC COMEDY

'A beautiful multi-generational story of belonging, identity and what it means to find yourself when you've lost your family. Sentence by sentence, the writing can take your breath away.' - Elizabeth Day, author of FRIENDAHOLIC

What if the price of moving forward is losing the only family you've ever known?

Summer, 1987. On the sweltering streets of the dying New England mill town of Swift River, sixteen-year-old Diamond Newbury is desperately lonely. It's been seven years since her father disappeared, and while her mother is determined to move on, Diamond can't distance herself from his memory. When Diamond receives a letter from a relative she has never met, she unearths long-buried secrets of her family's past and discovers a legacy she never knew she was missing. The more she learns, however, the harder it becomes to reconcile her old life with the one she wants to lead.

So begins an epic story spanning the twentieth century that reveals a much larger picture of prejudice and love, of devotion and abandonment - and will change Diamond's life forever.

'Told with warmth and humor by a memorable, irrepressible heroine.' - Rumaan Alam, author of LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND

'Swift River broke my heart, and then offered me hope.' - Ann Napolitano, author of HELLO BEAUTIFUL

'Infused with that satisfying feeling one gets when you realize the missing piece to the puzzle is a sense of self . . . a sensational debut.' - Paul Beatty, author of THE SELLOUT

About the Author

Essie Chambers is an author and award-winning independent producer. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University and has received fellowships from MacDowell, Vermont Studio Center, and Baldwin for the Arts. Previously, she worked as a television executive, and was a producer on the Oscar-shortlisted documentary Descendant, which was released by the Obamas' Higher Ground production company and Netflix in 2022. Swift River is her debut novel.