My Other Heart

Author: Strenner, Emma Nanami

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Published on 2 July 2026 by Cornerstone (Penguin (Cornerstone)) in the United Kingdom.

'A beautifully told story of family, identity, loss and belonging' JENNIE GODFREY'Poignant and powerful’ JEAN KWOK'Beautifully written and accomplished' NUSSAIBAH YOUNIS'Authentic and full of life' JESSICA STANLEY'I am bereft to have finished it! From the suburbs of Philadelphia to the streets of Saigon, I was completely immersed in the lives of these very special characters. I loved it.' EMILY ITAMI, author of Fault LinesMay 1998: Mimi Traung and her baby daughter wait restlessly at the gates of Philadelphia airport. While they prepare to board their flight to Vietnam, the unimaginable happens.

Seventeen years later in the quiet suburbs of Chestnut Hill, two best friends in search of their roots discuss their summer plans. Sabrina is preparing to travel to China to meet her mother’s family while Kit leaves for Tokyo, convinced that her biological mother is Japanese.

Each of these women are looking to find their place in the world. Eventually, Mimi, Kit and Sabrina come face to face, forced to confront the people they truly are, dismantling their own assumptions about belonging and the importance of blood ties.

READER REVIEWS'An emotional whirlwind ... A magnificent coming-of-age novel''At times heartbreaking and other times joyfully life-affirming ... This is a novel that spans decades and continents, yet remains deeply intimate and moving''The type of book you can't put down''A rights of passage tale with a twist'