The Hour of the Wolf: A Memoir

Summary

“Short but astonishing…articulated in such calm, quiet prose that it makes the burning cruelty of what Bhutto experienced all the more harrowing…a necessary reminder that being ‘strong’, accomplished, widely admired and fiercely clever doesn’t offer a protective shield.” —The Guardian

A LitHub and She Reads "most anticipated book of the year," The Hour of the Wolf is Fatima Bhutto’s searing, intimate memoir of grief, heartbreak, and what we owe the natural world—all learned from the dog who saved her life.

When Fatima Bhutto met a charismatic man who promised her love, healing, and the children she’d always dreamed of, she trusted him—never imagining what would become the toxic, manipulative relationship that held her captive for over a decade. By the spring of 2020, secluded in the English countryside and accompanied by her most loyal companion: Coco, a fiercely protective Jack Russell terrier, Fatima begins to question everything, and slowly finds the courage to reclaim her voice. Weaving reflections on love, loss, and healing with poignant memories of family, and meditations on literature, cinema, art, and nature, The Hour of the Wolf is a testament to resilience, self-acceptance, and the restorative power of friendship “that will undoubtedly make people feel less alone” (The Observer, London).