My name is Annette Byford.
I am a writer and psychotherapist. My first novel has just been published in Germany and will be published soon in English.


Born and raised in Germany I moved to the UK in my twenties and have now lived and worked here for many decades as a psychotherapist.
Over the last 10 years I have written and published several books, starting with non-fiction books dealing with family dynamics closely linked to my thinking as a psychotherapist.
With "Tanzende Spiegel",
Born and raised in Germany I moved to the UK in my twenties and have now lived and worked here for many decades as a psychotherapist.
Over the last 10 years I have written and published several books, starting with non-fiction books dealing with family dynamics closely linked to my thinking as a psychotherapist.
With "Tanzende Spiegel", my first novel, I have now branched out into fiction.
I am married and have two adult children and two grandchildren.

In post-war Germany, one secret rewrites two lives.
My new novel tells the story of a family secret growing out of the postwar years in Germany. It is based on some real events in my mother's life. Weaving around the central plot is the narrator's reaction to telling her mother's story: a psychotherapist and now an older woman she begins
In post-war Germany, one secret rewrites two lives.
My new novel tells the story of a family secret growing out of the postwar years in Germany. It is based on some real events in my mother's life. Weaving around the central plot is the narrator's reaction to telling her mother's story: a psychotherapist and now an older woman she begins to echo her mother's painful experience around love and broken boundaries.
While the book has at its center the fallout from a love triangle, it tells this story against the backdrop of post-war Germany, with the world of psychotherapy and the narrator's experience of being an older woman providing an extra dimension.

I have previously published two non-fiction books which deal with family dynamics.
A Wedding in the Family (2019 Free Association Books)
Once a Mother, Always a Mother (2022 Free Association Books)
Both books were featured in the national press and on Woman's Hour.
Tanzende Spiegel
"Ein packender autofiktionaler Roman um ein lang gehegtes Familiengeheimnis, schmerzhafte Liebe und die gesellschaftlichen Grenzen, mit denen Frauen konfrontiert werden."
"A gripping autofictional novel about a long kept family secret, about painful love and societal boundaries that confront women.”
"Ein Roman über das unausgesprochene Erbe der Vergangenheit: In Tanzende Spiegel verwebt Annette Byford mit sprachlicher Präzision und psychologischer Tiefe die Geschichte zweier Frauenleben. Es gelingt ihr, individuelle Lebenwege mit der kollektiven Geschichte zu verbinden. In detailreichen Rückblenden, persönlichen Reflexionen und poetischen Bildern entfaltet sich ein zutiefst menschlicher Roman."
"A novel about the unspoken legacy of the past: in "Tanzende Spiegel" Annette Byford weaves together the stories of two women with linguistic precision and psychological depth. She manages to connect individual life stories with collective history. In detailed retrospectives, personal reflections and poetic images a deeply human novel emerges."
"Manche Bücher sind ein Glücksfall, man stolpert einfach über sie. Der Debütroman von Annette Byford Tanzende Spiegel hat einen ganz besonderen Zauber... Ich wünsche diesem Roman grosse Aufmerksamkeit und empfehle ihn besonders gern. Nicht nur sprachlich ist er besonders sondern auch in der Komposition zweier Frauen aus verschiedenen Generation und ihrer Stimmen, die viel zu sagen haben.”
"Some books are a piece of good fortune, you just stumble across them. Annette Byford's debut novel Tanzende Spiegel has a very special magic... I wish this book lots of attention and would very much like to recommend it. It is special not just in its use of language, but also in its composition, with the voices of two women of different generations who have much to say.”
"Annette Byford zieht mich in ihren Bann...Die Übergänge und die Gedanken sind für mich so bildlich und sprachlich so eindringlich, dass ich das Buch kaum aus der Hand legen wollte."
"Annette Byford captivates me. The transitions and thoughts are so vivid visually and linguistically that I barely wanted to put the book down."
"Ich habe das Buch heute in einem Rutsch gelesen. Anders ging es nicht. Keine Chance zum Loslassen. Eine grossartige, bewegende Geschichte. Ich liebe den klaren und doch poetischen Stil, die einfühlsame und scharfsinnige Psychologie und wie die Zeit- und Erlebnisebenen verknüpft sind. Ein grosser, ganz wunderbarer Wurf."
"I devoured the book in one go- it was impossible not to. Such a moving and profound story. I love the clarity and poetry of the style, the emotional depth and psychological precision and how the layers of time and experience have been woven together"
“Die schöne Sprache und der ruhige Erzählstil der Autorin haben mich von Anfang an begeistert.
Absolute Leseempfehlung für alle, die anspruchsvolle Romane mit psycholgischem Tiefgang lesen.“
“The beautiful language and calm narrative style captivated me right from the start. I would absolutely recommend this to anybody who reads thought provoking novels with psychological depth.“
„Herausragend ist der Schreibstil. Er ist unaufgeregt, aber dabei klug, warm und ergreifend, dass ich etliche Male stellen markieren und erst einmal darüber nachdenken musste. Für mich definitiv ein Jahres Highlight.“
“The style is remarkable. It is unfussy, but intelligent, warm and moving. I had to mark several passages in order to think further about it. For me definitely a highlight of this year.“
"Ein leises Buch, das lange nachdenklich macht.“
"A quiet book that lingers in your thoughts for a long time."
"Ein wunderbares Buch über das Dazugehören und die Einsamkeit."
"A wonderful book about belonging and loneliness."
"Eindringlich und echt"
"Poignant and honest"
Once a Mother, Always a Mother
"Annette Byford weaves the personal, the general and the theoretical into a tapestry of insight. When one mother tells another how challenging she finds the changes in becoming a mother of an adult child, the comfort of the response 'I know' runs through these chapters. The book does know and offers its knowledge not from above, but shoulder to shoulder like an especially thoughtful and experienced friend.“
"This is a thought provoking and moving book.”
"Annette is a wonderfully thoughtful, considered and generous writer.”
"I love the way Annette writes and weaves in her own experiences and observations so thoughtfully, with a light touch in some places and deeply moving insight in others.”
"I have given copies to all my friends.”
"Helped me realize I am not on my own.”
A Wedding in the Family
"Annette Byford has written a book that looks behind the photos and explores the complicated relationships in families.”
- "This is such a helpful book.”
"As a mother-of-the-bride-to-be I devoured this book in a matter of days....Annette Byford writes clearly, intelligently and perceptively, drawing on her background as a psychotherapist to produce a book that is both accessible and thought-provoking.”

Lost and Gained in Translation: The Impact of Bilingual Clients' Choice of Language in Psychotherapy. British Journal of Psychotherapy. vol31:3. 2015
online, researchgate.net
A Wedding in the Family. Mothers Tell their Stories of Joy, Conflict and Loss. 2019
Available in paperback in all bookstores.
Amazon , paperback and Kindle (tinyurl.com/ybacg9gh)
Once a Mother, Always a Mother. On Life with Adult Children. 2022
Available in paperback in bookstores.
Amazon paperback and Kindle
(tinyurl.com/mtahpz2c)
Tanzende Spiegel. Ars Vivendi 2025
Available in bookstores in Germany
Also online Hardcover and Kindle: Amazon.de and Amazon.co.uk

Thursday 25.9.25
18.00
akiz_art, 7.OG, Mollststr. 1, 10178 Berlin