We Rip the World Apart

WINNER OF THE DARTMOUTH BOOK AWARD 2025

THREE WOMEN. THREE SECRETS. ONE FAMILY TORN APART.

MOTHER
When Evelyn fled to Canada with her young family during the politically charged Jamaican Exodus of the 1980s, she thought they were finally safe. But, years later, her worst fears come true when her son is killed by the police.

GRANDMOTHER
In the wake of her grandson's violent murder, Violet moves in, but despite her efforts to help the family through their grief, a growing web of secrets threatens the relationships they all hold so dear.

DAUGHTER
Kareela has lived with silences surrounding the loss of her brother since she was a child. Now, 24 and pregnant with a baby she isn't sure she wants, she feels the need to understand her place in the world as a woman who is half Black and half white - yet feels neither.

As the traumas the three women carry continue to pull them apart, Kareela must uncover the mysteries of her family's past to make sense of her identity and her future . . .