Disgraced - by Ann-Helén Laestadius (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From the internationally bestselling author of the "extraordinary" (Fredrik Backman) novel Stolen comes the emotional story of a young Sámi woman who leaves her strict religious community in disgrace, only to later return to reckon with the past and reclaim her Indigenous heritage.

Marina did something bad. Something unforgivable, even. Something that made her take the first train out of her hometown of Kiruna, vowing never to return. But a year later, the big city in the south has left her feeling adrift, and like the migrating reindeer of her Sámi heritage, she finds herself drawn back north. Home.

Yet Kiruna is no longer the haven she remembers and loves; it has become an emotional minefield, rife with old wounds and unspoken grudges. Her strictly religious Laestadian relatives still see her as a disgrace, their judgment shadowing her every step. Apparently, all sins can be forgiven except for hers.

Returning home also stirs something deeper--memories of a childhood divided between two worlds: the rigid faith of her best friend and cousin, Eva, where sin lurked in every joy, and the Sámi identity Marina's mother had never encouraged her to embrace. Suffocated under the watchful eye of the Laestadians, Marina grew up ashamed of her roots, terrified of punishment, desperate to belong.

As the novel shifts between past and present, Marina is forced to reckon with the choices that shaped her childhood--and the one that ultimately shattered life as she knew it. Now, she must decide: will she let shame define her, or will she finally reclaim the lost pieces of herself?

A powerful coming of age story about impossible love, identity, guilt, and the fight to embrace who you are, internationally bestselling author Ann-Helén Laestadius expertly explores the weight of shame and the fractures of faith and family, further cementing her place as one of the most vital voices in contemporary Indigenous fiction.

About the Author

Ann-Helén Laestadius is an author and journalist from Kiruna, Sweden. She is Sámi and of Tornedalian descent, two of Sweden's national minorities. She is also the author of Stolen--which was named Sweden's Book of the Year, longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, and adapted into a Netflix film--and Punished, both #1 bestsellers in Sweden.