The Mercy Step

Summary

BRADFORD, DECEMBER 1962.

A precocious Mercy makes her reluctant entrance into the world, torn from the warm embrace of her mother’s womb to a chaotic household that seems to have no place for her. Her siblings do not understand her, her mother’s attention is given to the Church, and the entire family lives at the whims of her father’s quick temper.

Left to herself, Mercy finds solace in books, her imagination, and the quiet comfort of her favourite toy, Dolly. But escapism has its limits, and as the grip of family, faith and fear threatens to close in, Mercy learns she must act if she wants a different future; one where she is seen, heard, and her family set free.

The Mercy Step is a sharp-witted and tender portrait of a young girl’s quiet rebellion, and her refusal to be broken.

“Heart-wrenching, deeply authentic, moving, a real tear-jerker … A stunning novel that everyone should read.”—Nussaibah Younis, Women’s Prize–shortlisted author of Fundamentally