Annette Byford: Psychotherapist and Author

I am a writer and psychotherapist
My first novel A Dance of Mirrors is now available in English following the German Edition

Annette Byford presents her novel 'A Dance of Mirrors' with a serene portrait and book cover.

Profile

About me

My previous books

My new novel

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 "A Dance of Mirrors"

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 "A Dance of Mirrors", my first novel, I have now branched out into fiction.

I am married and have two adult children and two grandchildren.

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My new novel

My previous books

My new novel

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.

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.

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My previous books

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.

Reviews

A Dance of Mirrors

"A gripping autofictional novel about a long kept family secret, about painful love and societal boundaries that confront women.”

"A novel about the unspoken legacy of the past: in "A Dance of Mirrors" 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."

"Some books are a piece of good fortune, you just stumble across them. Annette Byford's debut novel "A Dance of Mirrors" 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 captivates me. The transitions and thoughts are so vivid visually and linguistically that I barely wanted to put the book down."

"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."

“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.“

“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.“

"The key to the novel's success, in my view, is the author's technical mastery of the narrarrative form she has chosen. Each of the deftly interwoven strands constructs a story worth telling, but the tension between the two adds a necessary extra dimension that lifts the novel onto a different plane."

" A wonderfully compelling story with a an intense somehow haunting feel to it"

"This is one of those rare, curious books where both nothing really happens, and yet so much happens."

"Written in graceful prose, this novel is profound and gripping...Deeply human and psychologically compelling."

"A quiet book that lingers in your thoughts for a long time."

"A wonderful book about belonging and loneliness."

“A Dance of Mirrors“ surprised me through it’s quiet intensity. It evolved in delicate, psychologically precise movements.“

"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.”

Where to buy

Academic Writing

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

Non-Fiction Writing

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)

Fiction

Tanzende Spiegel. Ars Vivendi 2025

Available in bookstores in Germany

Also online Hardcover and Kindle: Amazon.de and Amazon.co.uk

"A Dance of Mirrors". Ars Vivendi 2026

Available in paperback in all major bookstores and online from 3th of July.

including Waterstone, Foyles, Blackwells, Amazon and hives.co.uk

Annette Byford

Annette Byford: Psychotherapist and Author

Profile

About me

My previous books

My new novel

My new novel

My previous books

My new novel

My previous books

My previous books

My previous books

Reviews

Where to buy

Academic Writing

Non-Fiction Writing

Fiction

Blogs

Events

Book Launch Event in Berlin

Book Launch Southampton

Annette Byford: Psychotherapist and Author

Social

Profile

About me

My previous books

My new novel

My new novel

My previous books

My new novel

My previous books

My previous books

My previous books

Reviews

Where to buy

Academic Writing

Non-Fiction Writing

Fiction

Blogs

Events

Book Launch Event in Berlin

Book Launch Southampton

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