Gaining Ground: 'A wildly original novel'

'An intricately, perfectly mapped journey into self-liberation . . . It will stay with me for the rest of my days' Samantha Harvey

'One of the great novels of the twentieth century . . . Absolutely stunning' Max Porter

'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.
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 quiet masterpiece.