Set in the author's hometown of Hamilton, Scotland, Cringe follows the defining experiences of shame throughout the lives of three women, depicting the impacts of these moments on their friendship and selfhood.

Ruth, Kirsty and Fiona have had a lifetime of shameful and embarrassing moments. Some painfully public, others privately devastating, but each one shaping their identities and influencing every decision they make.

Told through vignettes of these cringe-inducing memories, the three friends' interconnected stories shift in and out of focus from youth to old age. These moments unfold at school, in the workplace, in nightclubs, in doctors' appointments and even in their own homes, exposing the ripple effects of a shared sense of shame that can drive women apart, or bring them together.

Cringe will do for women's shame and embarrassment what Lisa Taddeo's Three Women did for female sexuality and desire.

Publication date: 18th March 2027