The Left-Behind Child

‘A must-read… Ante’s sensuous description of life… counts the true cost to one family of a mother having to work abroad as a nurse. There’s pain for everybody, but this… is written with such joy that the overall effect is exhilarating’ GWYNETH LEWIS 'A beautiful, hypnotic novel – positively capacious in its depth, its texture, and its heart ' CLAIRE LOMBARDO 'Captures brilliantly the complexity of a teenage girl's feelings for her absent mother' RACHEL JOYCE A mother forced to leave her family. A daughter forced to reckon with what is left behind. Lipa, Philippines, 2001 . Neneng is 11 when her mother, Rosa, leaves to work as a nurse overseas: abandoning Neneng to care for a distant father, unsettled relatives and rebellious siblings. Their home shatters, and Neneng finds herself facing womanhood alone. From that point on, she vows never to become a nurse, and never to trust her mother again. But Neneng is more like the strong-minded Rosa than she realises. As Neneng fights to survive and build a new life, the darknesses in the family’s past come to light, and the reasons why Rosa needed to leave become clearer. When a twist of fate brings a new mother figure into her orbit, Neneng will come to understand why the profession of nursing matters so deeply to Rosa and – when crisis strikes – what ‘care’ means to Neneng. Praise for Romalyn Ante: 'Ante is ... unparalleled in her image-making' Fiona Benson 'Spellbinding' Observer 'Powerful and hopeful ... Filled with heart and beauty' Cecile Pin