The Things We Keep to Ourselves

When Tori meets Nico, the American woman working behind the bar at the club where Tori performs, she is instantly drawn to her. The two quickly fall for each other with an intensity neither of them has experienced before. Tori, a dancer and sex worker originally from a small town, finally feels comfortable in her own skin, after years struggling to free herself from the expectations of others. But soon, Nico's adoration turns to obsession and jealousy, not just of Tori's male clients but also of the independent life she has built for herself. Nico grows increasingly controlling, and after Nico threatens her with a knife during a fight, Tori flees the apartment in panic. Only now, after a year without contact, does she allow herself to accept the support of her childhood friends Kaya and Sam. Through their care and friendship, Tori is slowly able to heal, regain her confidence, and build herself back up to be the woman she once was.

The Things We Keep to Ourselves is a sensitive, honest, and psychologically incisive novel about all-consuming love, the power of female friendship, and the courage it takes to stay true to who you are.

»Tia Morgen takes us so comprehensively into her cosmos that you just don’t want to let go of these characters. Atmospherically dense and linguistically virtuosic, this novel open touches on so many themes while never losing sight of its focus: the warmth between friends.« Shida Bazyar, winner of the 2026 German Book Prize

»A novel of disturbing tenderness. Its language is tactile, burning, viscous, and searches unceasingly for words for what is unspeakable between violence and desire.« Şeyda Kurt, author of Hate: The Uses of a Powerful Emotion

»Tia Morgen describes how longing, love and violence can coexist. And she shows what it takes not to be broken by this intensity: the support of the solidarity found in friendships. Painful, exquisitely beautiful, and full of unexpected emotional chasms.« Franziska Gänsler, author

»Tia Morgen writes about things that concern all of us, making visible so much of what is usually hidden between the lines.« Ruth-Maria Thomas, author