Hush

By Sara Marshall-Ball

A haunting and often shocking debut, Hush is the story of what happens when we find we cannot speak, even to those we love mostLily Emmett prefers to stay silent. Having suffered from selective mutism since childhood, she still struggles to see the value of everyday speech. Her partner, Richard, has learned to translate her movements to speak for her and they share a unique form of communication. But when Lily and her sister Connie return to their childhood home, the visit inspires memories of the event that first rendered Lily silent, and still haunts them both. The resulting search for the truth about what happened takes them back to a childhood shaped by bullying and familial breakdown, and unearths the secrets that lie at the heart of the sisters' relationship. Haunting, mysterious, and often shocking, Sara Marshall-Ball's debut novel is about how individuals cope with trauma and come to terms with the past.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
• Release date: Jun 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781908434593

Sara Marshall-Ball

Sara Marshall-Ball spent her formative years in Cambridge. She studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Derby before moving to Brighton in 2007. She worked as a proofreader of gravestones to support herself through her MA in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of Sussex, during which she wrote much of her debut novel Hush. The novel was shortlisted for Myriad’s Writer’s Retreat Competition in 2012. Sara Marshall-Ball currently works as an insurance claims assessor.