When she was thirteen, Sam’s mother abandoned her at the beach. One minute she was there, watching Sam surf, the next she was gone, and Sam was on her own, fending for herself.

Years later, Sam is in is a steady relationship and has a job in a hospital. When a coma patient is brought in who has the same name as her mother, memories start to return. What did happen on that day and what has happened in the intervening years?

As Sam struggles with her past she must also face her future as her relationship with Em, her partner of seven years, seems to be crumbling. Will she be able to find the truth and a way forward?

In this evocative and provocative novel, author N. A. Bourke explores the nature of truth, memory and love. Sam is a flawed character who seems unable to trust or to love with any completeness, and must recognise this for herself before she can move forward with her life.

The True Green of Hope is a resonant read.

The True Green of Hope, by N. A. Bourke
University of Queensland Press, 2005