Disgraced (A Novel)

From the internationally bestselling author of Stolen, the story of a young Sámi woman who leaves her strict religious community in disgrace, only to later return to reckon with the past and reclaim her Indigenous heritage.

Marina did something bad. Something unforgivable, even. Something that made her take the first train out of her hometown of Kiruna, vowing never to return. But a year later, the big city in the south has left her feeling adrift, and like the migrating reindeer of her Sámi heritage, she finds herself drawn back north. Home.

Yet, Kiruna is no longer the safe haven she remembers and loves; it has become an emotional minefield. Her strictly religious Laestadian relatives still see her as a disgrace, their judgment shadowing her every step. Apparently, all sins can be forgiven except for hers.

Returning home also stirs something deeper—memories of a childhood divided between two worlds: the rigid faith of her best friend and cousin Eva’s family, where sin lurked in every joy, and the Sámi identity Marina’s mother had never encouraged her to embrace. Marina grew up ashamed of her roots, terrified of punishment, and desperate to belong.

As the novel shifts between past and present, Marina is forced to reckon with the choices that shaped her childhood—and the one that ultimately shattered life as she knew it. Now, she must decide: will she let shame define her, or will she finally reclaim the lost pieces of herself?