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Our Better Natures

by Sophie Ward

Amid the chaos and political upheaval of 1970s America, three very different women must accept the world as it is, or act to change it. 

 

Phyllis Patterson is a housewife in White Plains, Illinois. Her son Jimmy returns to the family home from Vietnam with a Korean wife and two children. Blindsided by these new additions, particularly her curious granddaughter, Soozie, Phyllis's small-town world is turned upside down in more ways than she could have ever imagined.

 

Andrea Dworkin is an activist in Amsterdam. Having fled her abusive husband and their life together, she finds herself desperate for answers, for herself and the world around her. An encounter with Noam Chomsky and Michel Foucault at their infamous Dutch debate provokes her burgeoning independence. Returning to America she will embody a revolution, no matter the price.

 

Muriel Rukeyser is a poet in New York. Despite protestations from her lover, Monica, Muriel insists on campaigning against injustice, using her words as weapons and pushing her body to its limits. In this era of political unrest, Muriel's life stands as a testament to the possibility of creative resistance.

 

A single postcard from an imprisoned writer thousands of miles away will unite these women in the fight for a world they believe in.

 

Full of compassion, imagination and rich storytelling, Our Better Natures is a powerful novel about language, connection, and the courage of women who change the world.
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FICTION & POETRY
FICTION

pre-order available

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Published:

3 Feb 2026

Format

Trade Paperback

Publisher

Hachette

Imprint

Corsair

ISBN:

9781472156341

Amid the chaos and political upheaval of 1970s America, three very different women must accept the world as it is, or act to change it. 

 

Phyllis Patterson is a housewife in White Plains, Illinois. Her son Jimmy returns to the family home from Vietnam with a Korean wife and two children. Blindsided by these new additions, particularly her curious granddaughter, Soozie, Phyllis's small-town world is turned upside down in more ways than she could have ever imagined.

 

Andrea Dworkin is an activist in Amsterdam. Having fled her abusive husband and their life together, she finds herself desperate for answers, for herself and the world around her. An encounter with Noam Chomsky and Michel Foucault at their infamous Dutch debate provokes her burgeoning independence. Returning to America she will embody a revolution, no matter the price.

 

Muriel Rukeyser is a poet in New York. Despite protestations from her lover, Monica, Muriel insists on campaigning against injustice, using her words as weapons and pushing her body to its limits. In this era of political unrest, Muriel's life stands as a testament to the possibility of creative resistance.

 

A single postcard from an imprisoned writer thousands of miles away will unite these women in the fight for a world they believe in.

 

Full of compassion, imagination and rich storytelling, Our Better Natures is a powerful novel about language, connection, and the courage of women who change the world.
$38.00