THE THINGS WE NEVER SAY By Elizabeth Strout

What do we really know about the people closest to us—and what happens when the things left unsaid can no longer remain hidden?

Artie Dam appears to have a full and ordinary life: a decades-long marriage, a career teaching young people, friendships, neighbors, and weekends sailing on Massachusetts Bay. Yet beneath that life is a deep sense of isolation and a growing awareness of how little we truly understand about one another.

When Artie discovers a secret that changes everything, he is forced to reconsider his relationships, confront what he thought he knew, and find a new way forward.

With compassion and emotional depth, Elizabeth Strout explores loneliness, relationships, identity, secrets, love, and the human need to be understood.

This September The Bar invites you to go beyond the pages and ask: How well do we really know the people around us? What do we leave unsaid—and what might change if we finally said it?