My Sister and Other Lovers: A Novel

by Esther Freud

A stirring novel from the author of I Couldn’t Love You More and Hideous Kinky: the story of two sisters who couldn’t be more different and the great love that holds them together throughout a tumultuous youth

For as long as Lucy can remember, she’s been caught between love for her rootless mother and devotion to her fierce and exacting sister, Bea. From their peripatetic childhood to their restless teenage years—hitching through rural Ireland, the move to a communal house—she’s been forced to make a choice between these two very different ways of approaching life.

But as the girls come of age and embark on their own experiments—in love, drugs, work, motherhood—Bea is at risk of drifting further and further away. Can their loyalty to each other transcend the damages of a past that feels almost too dangerous to examine?

With scalpel-sharp insight, Esther Freud excavates the most intimate relationships of our lives, laying bare the fear and longing, the secrets and mistrust. My Sister and Other Lovers is an irresistible exploration of love, family, and freedom in all its forms.

Publication date
  • August 5, 2025