Nesting cover art

Nesting

A Novel

Pre-order: Try for $0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Nesting

Written by: Roisín O'Donnell
Narrated by: Louisa Harland
Pre-order: Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Pre-order Now for $27.01

Pre-order Now for $27.01

Confirm Pre-order
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

From an unforgettable new voice in Irish fiction, a heart-pounding, life-affirming story about one woman trying to leave her marriage and start over

On a bright spring afternoon, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision that will change everything. Grabbing an armful of clothes off the clothesline, she straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe—and that this time, when she leaves, she must stay away.

On the surface, she has a perfect life: her husband, Ryan, is a good provider, sometimes even kind and attentive, from a nice Irish family, and they have another baby on the way. But he also monitors Ciara's every move, flies into unpredictable rages where he convinces her she can do nothing right, and has isolated her from work, friends, and her beloved family.

Was fleeing the right thing to do? With no job and no support, Ciara struggles to provide a sense of normalcy for her little girls. Facing a broken housing system, they move into a hotel room on a floor reserved for women like her, eating takeout, washing their clothes in the bathroom sink, and building a community with the other residents. Ryan, meanwhile, wages a relentless campaign to win her back, and Ciara wavers. He never hit her, after all, and don't the girls need a stable home?

For fans of Claire Keegan and Louise Kennedy, Roisín O'Donnell’s extraordinary debut creates a devastating and suspenseful portrait of gaslighting and emotional abuse—and even better, a triumphant story about family, love, and finding a new place to nest.

©2025 Roisín O'Donnell (P)2025 Algonquin Books
Genre Fiction Literary Fiction
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What the critics say

"Nesting is a perfect portrayal of the insidious nature of intimate partner abuse where the bruises are not physical, but violently emotional. I fell in love with the voice of Ciara as she sets out to create a new life against all odds for herself and her children. A story of bravery, love, and redemption, chock full of emotional suspense—I couldn't look away. A high-wire act of a debut."—Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman and Godshot
"Such a moving, heartfilled, urgent book."—Jan Carson, author of The Raptures
"O’Donnell tackles the unsettling cruelties and manipulations of coercive control with insight and emotional complexity. The voice is authentic, vivid and important. The final dedication to ‘anyone trapped in a place that does not feel like home’ says everything. Emotionally charged, psychologically nuanced and full of compassion and possibility, I read with my heart in my mouth."—Una Mannion, bestselling author of Tell Me What I Am

What listeners say about Nesting

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.