You know you’re on to a good thing when your book is shortlisted for a literary prize before it’s even published. That’s what happened with Sophie Stern and her debut novel, What Is Left For Us.
Stern told The AJN that she never thought of herself as a writer. At least not one that earned money from it.
“I have always loved writing, and I’ve always just written for myself,” she explained. The inspiration for What Is Left For Us changed all that.
According to Stern, it all started with a house on a cliff.
“It’s this idea that a house can really be a container for memory and family, and it can be a place that draws people together, and in some cases, it can draw people together who might not want to be together,” she said, explaining that she also wanted to write something that played on the idea of family – what is the family home when you’re not on speaking terms with your family?
What Is Left For Us follows the lives of two sisters, Hannah and Rebecca, who have been estranged for years. When their grandmother dies and they need to decide what to do with her home, Rebecca returns from London to handle things in person. The story unfolds as a beautiful analysis of sisterly bonds and how family dynamics can change in an instant.
For Stern, the relationship was also written to play with the readers’ allegiances.
“You are never quite able to fully commit behind one or the other,” Stern laughed. And she’s right. While at times readers can identify and empathise with Hannah, at others, it’s Rebecca who earns the sympathy.
“They’re very flawed characters and I think probably at the start of the book, they’re, I don’t want to say unlikable, but I think people do find them a bit tough, and then you warm up to them over the book as you discover more and more about what has driven them to this point and what they’re holding on to,” she said.
“I can’t think of anywhere else in the world like it, where you have this incredible mix of backpackers, families. You can see a Chabad rabbi walking down the street and on the other side of the road, there are British backpackers in bikinis…”
Stern, who converted to Judaism in her twenties, told The AJN that threading Judaism through the book came through naturally.
“I’ve been Jewish for most of my adult life, and it’s been a very meaningful and joyful part of my life and a big part of my identity,” she said. “I didn’t set out to write a Jewish story, or have this character that had converted and had a Jewish family, but it came through. I liked that idea of exploring identity in particular, because that’s a big part of Hannah – finding her identity.”
She also said it’s a big part of Bondi, which is where the story is set. While Stern didn’t grow up in Bondi, she did live there during her university days. She described the suburb as a distinctly Australian place.
“I can’t think of anywhere else in the world like it, where you have this incredible mix of backpackers, families. You can see a Chabad rabbi walking down the street and on the other side of the road, there are British backpackers in bikinis,” she said.
Stern explained that while there was definitely a bit of naivety when writing What Is Left For Us, the novel was never intended to be published. Rather, she wrote it for herself.
“When I started writing it, my son was quite young, so he was still napping, so I would be writing in his naps. And it was this very special time that was just for me, that wasn’t work, that wasn’t parenting. It was pleasure,” she recalled. “It was hard as well. It was really written in sort of scraps, whenever I could do it. Obviously, being published is amazing, but what I realised was that the writing was what was meaningful.”
And the joy really does shine through.
Poignantly, the book has been published after the devastating Chanukah terror attack that unfolded against the Jewish community in December 2025. When asked if the book has taken on a new meaning, Stern was quiet in her contemplation.
“I feel like we’re all changed by what happened in Bondi. And it is strange for me to talk about the book being set in Bondi now a little bit. I think if I was writing the book now, it wouldn’t be the same. It couldn’t be the same because Bondi has changed,” she mused. “But, at the same time, I feel proud that the book is set in Bondi, because it’s a special place, and it’s a place that holds memory and meaning and shapes who we are. And I think we carry places with us.”
Ultimately, Stern said, the novel is a love story – between a home and a family, between a past and a present, between sisters, and within yourself.
“What I hope the readers get out of the book, I suppose is this idea that you might think you know a person, but there’s always more to the story, in the same way you might think you know yourself,” she said. “It’s this unraveling of relationships as well as looking at yourself, which is really hard.”
What Is Left For Us is published by Penguin, $34.99 rrp.
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