Paris, 1885: Aubry Tourvel, a spoiled and stubborn nine-year-old girl, comes across a wooden puzzle ball on her walk home from school. She tosses it over the fence, only to find it in her backpack that evening. Days later, at the family dinner table, she starts to bleed to death.

When medical treatment only makes her worse, she flees to the outskirts of the city, where she realizes that it is this very act of movement that keeps her alive. So begins her lifelong journey on the run from her condition, which won’t allow her to stay anywhere for longer than a few days nor return to a place where she’s already been.

From the scorched dunes of the Calashino Sand Sea to the snow-packed peaks of the Himalayas; from a bottomless well in a Parisian courtyard, to the shelves of an infinite underground library, we follow Aubry as she learns what it takes to survive and ultimately, to truly live. But the longer Aubry wanders and the more desperate she is to share her life with others, the clearer it becomes that the world she travels through may not be quite the same as everyone else’s…

Fiercely independent and hopeful, yet full of longing, Aubry Tourvel is an unforgettable character fighting her way through a world of wonders to find a place she can call home. A spellbinding and inspiring story about discovering meaning in a life that seems otherwise impossible, A Short Walk Through a Wide World reminds us that it’s not the destination, but rather the journey—no matter how long it lasts—that makes us who we are.

Get an early look from the first pages of A Short Walk Through a Wide World.

It is always exciting to discover a compelling new voice in fiction. Even more exciting is when that voice tells you a tale unlike any you’ve ever read. Douglas Westerbeke has done just that in his debut novel, A Short Walk Through a Wide World.

Nine-year-old Aubry Tourvel is living with her family in 1885 Paris when she unexpectedly starts bleeding at the dinner table. Attempted medical remedies only make her condition worse. She quickly realizes that the only way to survive is to keep moving. Every few days, she must travel to somewhere new, and she cannot revisit a place where she has already been. Spanning decades, the reader follows Aubry as she traverses the globe, meeting new friends and lovers, royals and beggars, the curious and the helpful on her grand adventure. Aubry is an extraordinary protagonist, but those she meets along the way are also compelling—and how she connects to people of different cultural backgrounds and timelines helps her grow and come to know herself and the world around her.

For anyone who wants to live fearlessly in our ever-changing world, this book will inspire you. It is imaginative and thought-provoking, and it will stay with you long after you’ve finished it. Happy Wandering.