A Lonely Place

"A Lonely Place" is an autobiographical novel by Swedish writer Kristina Sandberg. The action takes place in 2016.

After receiving the August Prize for the novel "Life at Any Cost," the author gains fame and is invited to numerous lectures and meetings with readers. She realizes that this is a very important period in her life, opening up new opportunities. At the same time, the protagonist feels her strength waning, and a strange pain in her chest causes her concern. Kristina delays her visit to the doctor for a long time, but eventually she is given a terrible diagnosis — an aggressive form of breast cancer. Her whole familiar life collapses.

This book contains a hospital diary, memories of childhood in the 1970s, and agonizing reflections on the fragility of the human body, on the present and the future, and fear for her loved ones. But above all, it is a book about how a terrible illness makes a person infinitely lonely.

Kristina Sandberg (b. 1971) is a renowned Swedish writer, literary critic, and recipient of the August Strindberg Prize (2014), Selma Lagerlöf Prize (2019), and other awards.