Belle Burden's story of a collapsed marriage is very close to the bone

Once told by her social circle to quieten down and disappear, now Belle Burden’s book is being lauded as helpful to others who have experienced something similar, writes Laurie Morrissey

Burden's 'memoir of marriage' chronicles a woman’s quest to make sense of herself and her life after her husband of 20 years decides he no longer wants to be a part of the life they have built together. File picture

I am passing through the section of the book shop where there are a lot of giant, serious looking faces on book covers. 

It's the biography section, and my eyes are skimming over images of (mainly) men who are telling their stories of glory, of overcoming adversity and winning at all costs. I’m in search of a different kind of biography, Belle Burden’s Strangers which, in comparison to its neighbouring texts, tells a far more ordinary story.