How Not To Disappear

Hattie's friend Kat is in Edinburgh; Reuben is in Cannes. But Hattie's waitressing at the Happy Diner, babysitting her siblings - and desperately ignoring the fact that she might be pregnant. 

Then Hattie's long-lost great aunt enters her life. The gin-drinking, straight-talking Gloria isn't a conventional sweet old lady - and she's also losing her memory. 

Gloria strong-arms Hattie to take her on a road trip: a journey to restore the missing pieces of Gloria's dissolving memory.  Hattie discovers she's a bigger a part of Gloria's story than she'd guessed - and she can't ignore being pregnant any longer.

Hattie and Gloria are generations apart. Times and attitudes have changed, but their stories of teenage motherhood, war-damaged fathers and family secrets vividly intertwine and illuminate each other in this moving, beautifully structured, absorbing novel.