In Conversation: Belle Burden & Heather Reisman

Event Details

Event type: All Ages

Join the bestselling author Belle Burden in conversation with Indigo's Chief Booklover Heather Reisman about her acclaimed book, Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage.

Event Guidelines:

• This is a ticketed event
• General Admission + Book: Includes access to the event space and ONE signed copy of Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage.
• General Admission: Includes access to the event space.

About the Book:

A gorgeous memoir about the sudden end to a seemingly happy marriage—an aching, love-filled, and transcendent account of surviving betrayal and discovering joy

"Riveting...examines the very nature of intimacy."—Joyce Carol Oates

It was a great love story, one for the ages. The speed of our beginning and the speed of our ending felt like matching bookends. They both came out of nowhere. He wanted it, he wanted me. And then he didn’t.

In March 2020, Belle Burden was safe and secure with her family at their house on Martha's Vineyard, navigating the early days of the pandemic together—building fires in the late afternoons, drinking whisky sours, making roast chicken. Then, with no warning or explanation, her husband of twenty years announced that he was leaving her. Overnight, her caring, steady partner became a man she hardly recognized. He exited his life with her like an actor shrugging off a costume.

In Strangers, Belle revisits her marriage, searching for clues that her husband was not who she always thought he was. As she examines her relationship through a new lens, she reckons with her own family history and the lessons she intuited about how a woman is expected to behave in the face of betrayal. Through all of it, she is transformed. The discreet, compliant woman she once was—someone whose nickname was “Belle the Good”—gives way to someone braver, someone determined to use her voice.

With unflinching honesty and profound grace, Burden charts a path through heartbreak to show the power of a woman who refuses to give up on love and rediscovers trust in herself. Strangers is a stunning, deeply moving, compulsively readable memoir heralding the arrival of a thrilling new literary talent.

Heather's Review:

If you are married, thinking about getting married, or have been married and are no longer, this book is for you.

Strangers is a searing and intensely moving memoir that will leave its mark on any reader. In it, Burden describes a marriage that slowly turns unfamiliar, forcing her to confront what it means to lose and then rediscover yourself within the context of a life-altering relationship.

At its heart, this beautifully written memoir is a story of love, loss, betrayal, generational imprints, and the roles we play—even at home. I literally could not put this down.

Accessibility Accommodations:

At Indigo, we are committed to creating welcoming and inclusive event experiences. If you require any accessibility accommodations to participate in this event, please reach out to the Indigo Events team. We will do our best to support your needs and ensure you have a comfortable and enjoyable experience