Its taken seven years to reinvent herself, and shes ready to move on with her life.
I hope that new readers andPS, I Love Youfans alike will embrace Hollys new journey.
The book publishes April 16 and isavailable for pre-order.
Matthew Thompson
Excerpt fromRoar, by Cecelia Ahern
The Woman Who Grew Wings
The doctor said it was hormonal.
Sideways on, she can see the shape that is emerging beneath the flesh at her shoulders.
And the men they share their beds with at night.
He is always readying himself, rarely able to relax and revel in the joys of being a child.
Her husband is grateful for everything they get, which only fuels her fury.
She rounds the corner with her little girl and boy and the school is in sight.
She readies herself, but her back is throbbing.
Though it throbs and aches constantly, there are times when the pain levels escalate.
At her husbands insistence, shed gone to the doctor about the changes in her back.
They need to save what little money they have for emergencies.
Only this time the new life her body is sustaining is her own.
She straightens up, but her back feels heavy and shes forced to hunch over again.
The school gate is in sight now, surrounded by clusters of mothers, standing around talking.
There are some kind eyes, of course there are; she gets one hello, one good morning.
Those people dont offend her.
It is the others.
Lips barely move as she speaks.
Another set of eyeballs.
Some more ventriloquism, less talented this time.
The whispers to each other, the stares.
This is the daily reality of her picked-over life; shes observed in everything she does.
She is late this morning and she is angry with herself.
She could go through them.
All of those things would mean drawing their attention, possibly having to talk.
She didnt flee from a war-torn country, leave everything and everyone she loves behind, for this.
Hoping for the coastline to appear.
She didnt go through all that so that she could be stopped in her tracks by these women.
The throbbing in her back intensifies.
It spreads from her lower spine all the way to her shoulders.
Shooting pain, that aches but also brings a strange relief.
As she nears the women, they stop talking and turn to her.
They are blocking the path, she will have to ask them to move aside.
It is childish, but it is real.
The pain in her back is so intense it prevents her from speaking.
She feels the blood rushing to her head, her heartbeat loud in her ears.
She feels her skin straining on her back, tightening.
She feels as though she will be torn open, just as when her babies were born.
And it is because of this she knows that life is coming.
She feels immense power, immense freedom, something these women dont understandand how could they?
Then theres a ripping sound and she feels air on her back.
her son says, looking up at her wide-eyed.
Always anxious about whats next.
She delivered him to freedom but he is still in custody, she sees it in him every day.
The abaya rips completely and she feels a violent surge from behind, as shes pulled upward.
Her feet leave the ground with the force of it, then land again.
She takes the children with her.
Her son looks fearful, her daughter giggles.
The women with the tennis bags look at her in shock.
her little girl whispers, letting go of her hand and circling her.
Her primary wings are at the tips of her fingertips.
She looks at her son and he smiles shyly, surrendering to this miracle.
The women still block the path, too shocked to move.
Her mother once told her, the only way to the end is to go through.
Her mother was wrong; she can always rise above.
Hold on tight, my babies.
She feels their trusting grips tighten around her hands; they cannot be torn apart.
Her wingspan is enormous.
Those little hands gripping hers are all the motivation she needs.
Everything was always for them.
Always has been, always will be.
Everything they are entitled to.
She closes her eyes, breathes in, feels her power.
Taking her children with her, she lifts upwards to the sky, and she soars.
Excerpted from ROAR by Cecelia Ahern.
Copyright 2019 by Greenlight Go Unlimited Company.
Used by arrangement with Grand Central Publishing.
