THE BURNING SIDE

Available now for preorder

Coming May 19, 2026

From the author of THE BRIGHT YEARS, the story of April and Leo, a couple on the brink of collapse. When their house goes up in flames, family secrets and thorny histories emerge as they are forced to decide what is worth salvaging.

When April and Leo’s house burns in the middle of the night, they escape with their two young children and the quiet knowledge that the fire is not the only thing threatening their family. They retreat to April’s childhood home in Dallas, where her spirited parents and siblings provide both comfort and complication.

As the family reckons with the aftermath—grief, guilt, logistics, and memories scorched and intact—the fire exposes the cracks already forming in April and Leo’s marriage. The novel unfolds in alternating perspectives: from April, who feels the crushing weight of motherhood, marriage, and self-blame; from Leo, a high school history teacher shaped by a lonely, fractured childhood; from Deb, April’s generous and no-nonsense mother who has to contend with her husband’s recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis; and from flashbacks that trace April and Leo’s relationship from its earliest days of connection to the devastating decisions that led them here.

A family saga suffused with humor, longing, and heartbreak, The Burning Side is about what we inherit and what we choose, about forgiveness and the ache of being known. It is, above all, about the meaning of home and the costs of long love.

“A life together is forged in ten thousand choices.”

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Praise for The Burning Side:

“Damoff writes with lyrical precision, weaving fire imagery throughout the novel as both literal catastrophe and emotional metaphor. Her characters feel achingly real in their flaws and vulnerabilities. The Burning Side is a compelling choice for book clubs, inviting discussion about what sustains a marriage, what destroys it, and how families face the difficult truths of aging and loss.”

—Southern Literary Review

“Sarah Damoff unravels her readers alongside her characters and pulls us all back together in real time. The Burning Side is a masterpiece—deep, riveting and heartfelt. Sarah leaves us better off for having spent time in her world.” —Emma Grey, bestselling author of Pictures of You