Home
/
Fiction
/
Runaway Wife
Runaway Wife
Sep 11, 2025 12:27 AM

Author:Rowan Coleman

Runaway Wife

Sometimes you have to have the courage to start over...

A heartfelt and uplifting story perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes from the author of Sunday Times bestseller The Memory Book and Zoe Ball Book Club pick, The Summer of Impossible Things

Rose Pritchard has fled her home and her abusive husband with little more than the clothes on her back – and her most precious possession, her seven year old daughter Maddie.

But Rose does have one other thing left – a glimmer of hope that she can build a better life for herself and her daughter, whatever it takes…

Reviews

The Runaway Wife is a compelling story of second chances and the restorative power of love. Heartbreaking yet completely uplifting, Rowan Coleman beautifully portrays a mother's desperate hope against unimaginable odds. It will reaffirm your faith in life and stay with you long after the story ends

—— Miranda Dickinson

I love the way the story builds and you learn Rose’s back story at the same time as her future story. It’s a very human book, full of emotion, and you really feel everything that Rose is going through. Maddie’s character is especially well-written, and she feels very real in her childlike reaction to what is going on around her. Uplifting and inspirational, it’s a story full of sadness, fear and new beginnings. But what this book is ultimately about is the importance of hope. And I certainly hope this is a big seller. Order your copy now (along with a pack of tissues!).

—— Fabulousmag.co.uk

Written with a raw and honest approach ... emotionally engaging and satisfying

—— Daily Express

I immediately read The Memory Book and it's WONDERFUL ... I'm so happy because she's written other books and its so lovely to find a writer you love who has a backlist

—— Marian Keyes

One of my favourite writers

—— Cara Delevingne

A searing, allegorical view of Chinese society during some of the darkest moments of the Mao era. . . . Yan cements his reputation as one of China's most important—and certainly most fearless—living writers

—— Kirkus

Yan's new work is vital historical testimony

—— Library Journal, US

A biting satire about Chinese re-education camps during the Great Leap Forward that's as haunting as it is eye-opening

—— Publishers Weekly

One of the masters of modern Chinese literature, Yan Lianke gives all the pleasures one gets from reading. He can extract humour from the bleakest situation. I whole-heartedly recommend this latest book

—— Jung Chang

A rich reading experience and much light shed on this catastrophic period of Chinese history

—— 4 stars , New Internationalist

Woven together, these “texts” reflect the catastrophe of the times and meditate on the meaning of integrity, truth, love and ethics when confronted with horror. It is an extraordinary novel

—— Isabel Hilton , Observer

As a reader, you close the book with a profound sense of how ideology has permeated and changed very sector of collective human life, from trivial daily matters to the great ruptures of history

—— Xiaolu Guo , Guardian

A powerful satire on ideology, veering between the grotesque and the horrific

—— Ángel Gurría­-Quintana , Financial Times

I would absolutely recommend this to individual readers and reading groups alike. It’s not an easy read considering the subject matter but it is a very good one.

—— Eleanor King , Nudge

Wonderfully well written and hard to believe this is James Hannah's debut novel. Very early on I felt this was going to be a book I loved and I was right.

—— bakeysbookblog.blogspot.co.uk

Sad and funny in equal measure but also quite uplifting about the power of the human spirit. An author who I am sure will continue to go from strength to strength.

—— @jaffareadstoo

This book broke my heart.

—— handwrittengirl.com

This is a really engrossing, interesting read and a book I just couldn't put down.

—— tealadymumbles.co.uk

The story is sad, yet it is uplifting. The characters are flawed, yet human. I was very impressed by this novel. It is a delight to read and to recommend to others.

—— randomthingsthroughmyletterbox.blogspot.co.uk

I was completely sucked into this book and flew through the pages. I loved it.

—— www.cosybooks.com

This book has moved me and it has changed me, and isn't that what it is all about? It is only March and I don't know if anything will top this one this year for me. Essential reading.

—— reflectionsofareader.blogspot.co.uk

Take Trainspotting, cut out the swearing, and add a filter of nuanced meditations on love: welcome to The A to Z of You and Me. I absolutely loved this book.

—— sarahjasmon.com

'David Nicholls' school of commercial fiction. An accomplished piece of fiction, both entertaining and thought-provoking

—— alifeinbooks.co.uk

Spare, poignant and with a quirky charm all of its own, it reminds us how kind people can be

—— RACHEL JOYCE

Wonderful and heartbreaking.

—— CLAIRE FULLER, Desmond Elliott Prize winner 2015

Hannah writes with emotional acuity. Warm, wry, thoughtful and devastating in places, this is a life-enhancing missive from death's door.

—— The Sunday Times

The most richly fruited post-modern novel since Jeanette Winterson’s Sexing the Cherrys

—— Marcus Field , Independent

A bold, impressive debut

—— 4 stars , Daily Telegraph

As a debut novel, it is truly dazzling and Hermione Eyre has proved herself an author well worth watching out for

—— Susannah Perkins , Nudge

Profoundly moving

—— Country Life
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved