The Ones We Loved

A Novel

A wrenching love story and literary debut following two strangers whose paths converge in a series of seemingly chance encounters and shared histories, perfect for readers of Jesmyn Ward, NoViolet Bulawayo, and Yaa Gyasi.

On a bus moving across rural landscapes from town to town, two young people are escaping with nothing to hold except hope. She has committed a horrifying act for which there will certainly be retribution. He is staggering from a devastating discovery. They will find each other and attempt to move forward, even as their grief leaves wounds on their new beginnings.

Seamlessly transitioning between past lives and present realities, The Ones We Loved tenderly weaves both myth and memory into an account of two people desperate for connection and yearning for a place to belong. They will find sunflowers carrying death, rivers that whisper secrets and trees that will see it all.

The Ones We Lovedis told in the rhythms of oral retellings practiced in Zimbabwe, where a ngano (story)—its melodies, pauses and lifts—creates a call-and-response with the audience. It is a breathtakingly beautiful story about the homes we leave behind, the lonely voices that find us and the painful consequences of experiencing a love that has never known how to let go.