Things That Break Us

SOME TRUTHS ONLY REVEAL THEMSELVES WHEN EVERYTHING ELSE FALLS APART.

Tessa Williams is doing everything right—at least on the surface. At twenty-five, she’s an American medical student, fulfilling her father’s dreams, completing a clinical rotation in Botswana, Africa. But beneath her polished exterior, she’s unraveling—haunted by an abusive relationship, burdened by expectations, and increasingly unsure of what she wants for herself.

A weekend escape to a remote safari lodge—and an unexpected connection with Corey Diallo, her South African guide with grief of his own—changes everything. What begins as a chance encounter becomes something deeper, forcing them both to confront the pain they’ve buried…and the lives they’ve been told to want.

Spanning twelve years and two continents, Things That Break Us is a sweeping, emotional women's fiction debut about the invisible wounds we all carry, the expectations that shape us, and the moments that define who we become.

It’s a novel that asks: How do we let go of others’ expectations to build the life we truly want? Not the one others planned for us. Not the one that looks good. But the one uniquely, wildly, and solely ours.

Because, sometimes…it takes being far from home to finally come home to yourself.

Perfect For Readers Who:

• Love Kristin Hannah or Colleen Hoover
• Enjoy emotionally rich stories with a strong sense of place
• Prefer romance woven amidst character-driven narratives
• Appreciate women’s stories about identity, grief, healing, and reinvention
• Are drawn to multigenerational themes and complex emotional arcs