Gaining Ground

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

From the outside, Abra's life is a comfortable suburban dream. So why does she walk away from her husband and children, leaving only a note asking them not to look for her? Nine years later, her grown-up daughter decides to find out.

Gaining Ground, published as Abra in North America, is a portrait of a woman who chooses solitude and freedom over convention. With lyrical prose and piercing insight, Barfoot explores the cost and the power of independence.

First published in 1978, this wise novel is a passionate cry for freedom and a calmly devastating challenge to social expectations.