How do we find the courage to step out of the life that others have shaped for us and walk our own path? Two friends discuss their extraordinary novels based on true stories to shine a light for us on this question. Tahmima Anam’s Uprising is a blistering yet captivating novel set amongst sex workers on an isolated island – inspired by the real women of Banishanta, Bangladesh. In her romantic and evocative Wash, Erica Wagner draws an intimate portrait of Washington Roebling, architect of the Brooklyn Bridge. Courage and goodness can find a way.