After twenty-five years of marriage, Banjo Murphy finally walks out on his wife, Jade, unable to forgive her for what seems to be yet another betrayal. Hours later his broken body is discovered by the side of the road, the victim of a hit and run, and his family is shattered by the unexpected loss. As Jade withdraws into silence, seeking solace in chemical oblivion, his youngest daughter, Melissa, seeks answers to the mystery surrounding her fathers deathand the truth about his life.

Who was the Jade these lovers knew? What did her mother need to live beyond the confines of their family? What did she gain from all those other men? How much had her father known? Why had he stayed and what made him leave the night he died?

With death, Banjo is finally in possession of the perspective that eluded him in life. Drifting in the ether he comes to understand his wifes behaviour and to forgive her the failings that tortured him during their marriage.

I realise now it was as difficult for Jade to be who she was as it was for the rest of us to live with her

But for his youngest daughter, Melissa, there is too much unsaid and unknown. With Jade refusing to talk, Lissy tries to find answers in her mothers sketchbook which chronicles the affairs Jade indulged in over the course of her parents marriage.

I have conflicting feelings about Jade that are never fully resolved. I admire the way in which she is unapologetically true to her self, to her own needs and desires, regardless of the judgement of others. Yet Jades demand for freedom comes at a steep emotional cost to those that love her best, namely Banjo and their daughters.

In exposing a woman who defies what is expected of her, Being Jade raises provocative questions about how authentic we truly are in our relationships with others, and with ourselves. The author challenges the notion of unconditional love, exploring the ways in which we narrow the definition to suit our own purposes, and how this family comes to understand and accept love isnt as simple and everyone wants it to be.

A searing portrait of the complexities of love, intimacy and truth Being Jade is an eloquent and powerful piece of storytelling from author Kate Belle.