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About the Author

Finalist for the 2026 Epigram Books Fiction Prize

A heartbroken woman flees to Paris to rebuild her life, yet dreams of love in Yangon.

When Khin Lay married popular, passionate Yan Naung, she believed she had found true love. But years of childlessness lead to her husband’s affair and her marriage crumbles. Heartbroken and suffocated by the expectations placed on her as a divorcée, Khin Lay leaves for Paris to pursue her further studies. There, she meets Htet Aung—steady, patient and offering the promise of a different kind of love. Just as she begins to rebuild her life, Yan Naung reappears, transformed and seeking redemption. Torn between the memory of her first love and the possibility of a new beginning, Khin Lay must choose between the past that shaped her and the future she deserves.

A story about love, loss and the courage to begin again.

“This novel began with the sense that in the quiet corners of memory and the shadows of heartbreak, we discover the fragile strength of the human heart. Even when love feels lost, life offers new beginnings: moments to heal, to forgive and to embrace the possibility of joy once more.”
—May Thanakhar
May Thanakhar is a medical doctor and writer based in Myanmar. Her fiction has appeared in leading national magazines, and she is currently completing a collection of short stories. She received the Best Short Fiction Award from the Myanmar Writers Club in 2019 and the Best Novel Award from the Pakokku Literary Award in 2020. She also shares her work on Facebook and other online platforms, where she writes as a freelancer.

Authors

Take Me Back to Yangon