The Victorious - Laetitia Colombani - book

At 40, Solène has sacrificed everything for her career as a lawyer: her dreams, her friends, her loves. One day, she cracks, collapses. It's depression, burnout.
To help her get back on her feet, her doctor advises her to turn to volunteering. Unconvinced, Solène comes across a classified ad that piques her curiosity: " seeking volunteer for public writer mission ." She decides to answer it. Sent to a home for women in difficulty, she soon becomes disillusioned. In the vast Palais de la Femme , she struggles to find her bearings. The residents are distant, suspicious, elusive. Over a cup of tea, a letter to Queen Elizabeth, or a Zumba class, Solène discovers unique personalities and places from all over the world. With Binta, Sumeya, Cynthia, Iris, Salma, Viviane, La Renée, and the others, she gradually earns her place and reveals herself to be surprisingly alive. She will also understand the meaning of her vocation: writing. Nearly a century earlier, Blanche Peyron fought a battle. Head of the Salvation Army in France, she dreams of providing a home for all those excluded from society. She embarks on a crazy project: to build them a Palace. The Women's Palace exists. Laetitia Colombani invites us to enter to discover its inhabitants, their dramas and their misery, but also their passions, their strength of life, their generosity.