'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
| ISBN: | 9781784746117 |
| Publication date: | 13th August 2026 |
| Author: | Romalyn Ante |
| Publisher: | Chatto & Windus an imprint of Random House |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 208 pages |
| Genres: |
Modern and Contemporary Fiction Narrative theme: Coming of age Biographical fiction / autobiographical fiction Family Drama |
'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
The Left-Behind Child features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Narrative theme: Coming of age, Narrative theme: Displacement, exile, migration, Biographical fiction / autobiographical fiction, Family Drama
The Left-Behind Child is available in Hardback
The Left-Behind Child was written by Romalyn Ante and published by Chatto & Windus an imprint of Random House
The Left-Behind Child has 208 pages
£15.29