Belle Burden is the author and subject of Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, narrated from her first-person perspective. The memoir is an expanded version of Burden’s well-received 2023 essay “Was I Married to a Stranger?,” published in the “Modern Love” column of The New York Times. After the essay prompted readers to share that Burden “made [them] feel less alone” or “made a difference in [their] life” (222), Burden decided to more fully explain the dissolution of her marriage to hedge-fund manager Henry P. Davis, whom she calls “James” in the text.

Burden comes from a very wealthy family; her grandmother was famous socialite Babe Paley, editor of Vogue magazine from 1939 through 1947. Her “innate style” and “famous glamour” led to appearances “on the International Best Dressed List” (170). Burden grew up in privilege, but her parents’ divorce and her father’s remarriage affected her understanding of marital dynamics. In the memoir, she chronicles a pattern of giving up her aspirations to appeal to male authority figures. For example, although she had a passion for writing and wanted to pursue a career in criminal law, she pivoted to corporate law for the sake of her father.