The Society of Shame

Political wife Kathleen Held is looking forward to a relaxing night at home alone. But when her taxi driver pulls up to her house, she finds her garage on fire, her husband without pants, and a woman half her age. When the driver snaps a photo, it is not her husband’s infidelity that shocks everyone but that Kathleen unknowingly had a large period stain on her pastel pants. She is immediately inducted into the Society of Shame and becomes the spokesperson for the #YesWeBleed campaign. Roper’s sophomore novel (after Eden Lake) is a searing look at how grassroots movements begin, the power of internet fame, and the importance of relationships in the real world. Thérèse Plummer narrates Kathleen, a woman poised to be a senator’s wife, bringing out her grace and confusion as she navigates perimenopause, infidelity, and the demands and rewards of family.