A Far-flung Life

Western Australia, 1958: here, for generations, the MacBrides have lived on a remote sheep station, Meredith Downs. A million acres, it’s an ocean of arid land.

On an ordinary day, on a lonely road, patriarch Phil MacBride swerves to avoid a kangaroo. In seconds, the lives of his entire family are shattered.

Then, instead of leaving them to heal, fate comes back for them in a twist of consequences that will cause one of them to lose their life, and another to sacrifice theirs for the sake of an innocent child. Matt, the youngest MacBride, is plunged into a moral and emotional journey for which there is no map, no guide, as he is forced to choose between love and duty, sacrifice and happiness.

A Far-flung Life explores the lives of a handful of isolated souls and the secrets they shield in order to survive. A tale of family and belonging, of compassion and hope, it's about people trying to do their best, and each, for private reasons, seeking shelter from the storm of life.

From the author of the acclaimed international bestseller The Light Between Oceans comes a breathtaking and epic novel set in the vast outback of Western Australia.

‘A big, bold story of tragedy and resilience. I was completely swept away.’ BONNIE GARMUS, author of Lessons in Chemistry

'Heart-wrenching and beautifully set. A gorgeous feast of a novel about family, community, love and the lengths we will go to save them all.’ RACHEL JOYCE, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

'M.L. Stedman's new novel A Far-flung Life was well-worth the wait. Epic, grand, intimate and aching, it is a novel that carries its secrets in hidden places, burying its wounds in the vast, empty landscape of Western Australia and in the broken hearts of its characters. I loved it.' MIRANDA COWLEY HELLER, author of The Paper Palace
‘Truly a masterpiece. The kind of book you will remember for the rest of your life, and I love the very bones of it.’ JOANNA CANNON, author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep

‘One of those rare books that fill the soul.’ DONAL RYAN, author of Heart, Be at Peace
'A world, a story, a cast of characters I truly lost myself in.' JENNIE GODFREY, author of The List of Suspicious Things
'Mesmerising and unforgettable, this sweeping novels aches with life's impossible choices, thrums with love and pain, and imprints itself on your heart.' JOANNA GLEN, author of The Other Half of Augusta Hope