Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award 2018
Emma did not go to war looking for love, but Adam is unlike any other.
Under the secret shadow of trauma, Emma decides to leave Iraq and joins Adam to settle in Colorado. But isolation and fear find her, once again, when Adam is re-deployed.
Torn between a deep fear for Adam’s safety and a desire to be back there herself, Emma copes by throwing herself into a new role mentoring an Iraqi refugee family. But when Adam comes home, he brings the conflict back with him.
Emma had considered the possibility that her husband might not come home from war. She had not considered that he might return a stranger.
"Pieces of Me churns with love and rage and hope and terror, as only the best war books can. Natalie Hart writes like a born storyteller, and she uses that gift here to explore how the Iraq War lingers in the dark corners of souls desperate to move on from it. Readers are in for a ride." Matt Gallagher, Author of Youngblood
"Pieces of Me is a quietly powerful exploration of the complex effects of the Iraq war…The novel builds in power and speaks authoritatively on the polarisation of the lives changed forever by conflict." Zoe Lambert
"I devoured this book, and I feel like I'll carry Emma and Adam with me for a long time. Hart tells this devastating story beautifully." Laura Pearson, Author of Missing Pieces
"Heart-wrenching and heart-warming in equal measure, Pieces of Me is an incredibly moving tale of love and conflict. A compelling and accomplished debut, Natalie writes with the skill and confidence of a writer who's been published for years. I couldn't put it down." Harper's Bazaar
"An astounding debut, Pieces of Me is a beautiful book written with emotion and compassion and will stay with me for a long time. Its characters and story tugged at my heart with every turning page." Nina Pottell, Books Editor Prima Magazine and Costa Book Awards Judge