'Cecilia Knapp beautifully captures the experience of contemporary womanhood in this lyrical and insightful novel. A genuine triumph' ELIZA CLARK

lack /lak/ noun

• the state of being without or not having enough of something.

In the quiet, lonely hours of the middle of the night, a woman scrolls social media on her phone. Babies are everywhere. All her friends seem to have one. Her sweet partner Dan is desperate to start a family. But she is full of doubt – how can she consider the enormity of new life when the world outside is burning?

Besides, there’s something wrong in her body. She can feel it. A pain. A constant dull ache she is too frightened to investigate.

And then there is something darker, pulsing beneath the surface, threatening to catch up with her. Hers is a life deeply affected by grief and chaos; the death of her mother, a sexual assault, and a drawn-out affair full of glamour, hedonism, obsession and control.

Is it possible to rebuild when all you feel is lack?

This stunning literary novel explores and confronts the immense pressure and uncertainty of contemporary, consumable womanhood.