The wait is almost over for a Costa-shortlisted author about to publish her second novel, inspired by a childhood in Bury St Edmunds. 

THIS FAMILY by Kate Sawyer takes place in a Suffolk garden, over the course of a single summer's day. Having returned to Suffolk for the wedding of Mary, a fractured family has been brought together for the first time in years. 

 During this 24-hour period, eight family members spread across four generations reflect on the moments their lives were irrevocably changed.  

"These moments might have seemed inconsequential at the time, but they were huge turning points in their lives, and in the background is the hum of social change that was happening across Great Britain,” explained Ms Sawyer, 42. 

“For example, how 9/11 perhaps affected someone living in East Anglia, or how a change of government in 1996 affected a teenager in Suffolk.” 

East Anglian Daily Times: Kate Sawyer holding THIS FAMILY. Her first novel, The Stranding, was shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards. Image: Kate Sawyer Kate Sawyer holding THIS FAMILY. Her first novel, The Stranding, was shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards. Image: Kate Sawyer (Image: Kate Sawyer)

East Anglian Daily Times: THIS FAMILY by Kate Sawyer will be available from May 11. Image: Kate SawyerTHIS FAMILY by Kate Sawyer will be available from May 11. Image: Kate Sawyer (Image: Kate Sawyer)

East Anglian Daily Times: Kate Sawyer said that her novel was inspired in part from her own experiences living in a multi-generational household. L-R: Her father, Graham Sawyer, her grandmother Dorothy Shaw, her daughter, Ruby Sawyer and her mother, Valerie Sawyer. Image: Kate SawyerKate Sawyer said that her novel was inspired in part from her own experiences living in a multi-generational household. L-R: Her father, Graham Sawyer, her grandmother Dorothy Shaw, her daughter, Ruby Sawyer and her mother, Valerie Sawyer. Image: Kate Sawyer (Image: Kate Sawyer)

The idea of a family brought together was also inspired by Ms Sawyer’s own experiences. 

“I was living in a multi-generational household when my daughter was born,” she explained. During lockdown, she was living with her grandmother, both her parents and her daughter, now aged three. 

While the novel is free to roam between England, France, New York and LA, there are nods to Ms Sawyer’s childhood in the village of Barrow. Residents of Bury St Edmunds may recognise some of the places described. 

Overall, Ms Sawyer said her the novel seeks to portray the “bigger picture”. 

“It is about how a family is made up from all these different people, with differing opinions and life paths,” she said. 

“I think we are made up from a patchwork of experience more than we realise.” 

THIS FAMILY will be published on May 11. 

A launch event will take place at Woodbridge Library on Thursday, May 11, and then at Waterstones in Bury St Edmunds on Friday, May 12.