HOW TO BELONG

​Sarah Franklin’s much anticipated second novel was released this month. Sarah’s first, ‘Shelter’,was set during World War Two and followed Connie as she escaped the city for the Forest of Dean where she enlisted in the Women’s Timber Core. As Connie settled into her new life as a Lumber Jill we followed her developing relationship with co-worker Seppe, an Italian POW. Drawing on extensive research, and her own family memories, Sarah’s debut was rich in local detail, fascinating history, and complex characters -  and was a great success. Her second novel, How To Belong brings us once again to the Forest of Dean, this time the contemporary Forest, and though never over powering the story it is set against the backdrop of some familiar issues: declining high streets, increasingly unaffordable housing, the necessity for some of moving away. We follow two women, from different backgrounds, with different characters, and living very different lives, as they develop an unlikely friendship. We were delighted when Sarah agreed to join us in conversation, with Reading the Forest’s Roger Deeks, to tell us all about her new novel. 

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