Gaining Ground

Giveaway For Gaining Ground

Giveaway Details

Prize availability:

Four lucky members will each win a set of five copies to read Gaining Ground by Joan Barfoot with their book club!

Format:

ARC

Giveaway dates:

Sep 18, 2026 - Oct 2, 2026

Countries available:

United States Only

Sponsored by:

Faber & Faber

Giveaway ends in:

About the Book

Authored by Joan Barfoot

Published on: Aug 25, 2026

*'A LITERARY SENSATION: THE MUST-READ OF THE SUMMER' (OBSERVER)*

'Thrillingly original . . . A landmark'
Anne Enright
'One of the great novels of the twentieth century . . . Absolutely stunning'
Max Porter
'A joyful and generative novel about running away to make a new home for a new self'
Sarah Moss
'An intricately, perfectly mapped journey into self-liberation . . . It will stay with me for the rest of my days' Samantha Harvey
'Wildly original . . . Beneath the radical disquiet is a beautiful hymn to the hearts and minds of women'
Sarah Hall

I swear I loved them all, and I did the best I could. And then I left them, left all of it.

Abra has a perfect-seeming life as a wife and mother: until one day, she walks away, leaving only a note asking her family not to look for her.
In a woodland cabin, her new life alone begins. There are no mirrors, no clocks, no memories: just the squirrels breathing in the forest, and silence of vegetables growing.
Years later, a young woman arrives, and the past-flashes begin. Daughter? A strange word. Is this her? And what will this mean?

Joan Barfoot's
Gaining Ground is a both a provocative meditation on living on your own terms and an exquisite work of art. It calls to anybody who has ever wanted to escape - who has asked what it costs to be wild, to be sane, to be free.

What readers are saying:
So damn extraordinary.
This book meant everything to me.
It quietly changed the path of my life.
An instant all-time favorite.
I loved reading this book . . . A story of impossible bravery, survival and reconciliation.
A beautiful story about a woman who puts her own happiness in life above her maternal duties.
One of the most influential novels I have ever read.
Wonderful. So much food for thought. I never re-read books, but this is one of the first I'll make an exception for.
A masterpiece.

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