At 19 years of age, the artistic and temperamental Louise makes a decision that changes the course of her life forever. In love with the handsome Kareem, and enchanted by the promise of an exotic world, Louise decides to leave Dublin and join Kareem in his native land. Immersed in great works of literature, from ’King Lear’ to Ulysses, Louise imagines North Africa as a land of timeless traditions and desert sunsets.The reality of married life in Tripoli doesn't match Louise’s dream, but she perseveres. Trapped in an abusive marriage, she survives to raise her children and find her footing in an unfamiliar land.Oasis, the debut novel by psychoanalyst and psychotherapist Millie Blackwood, charts Louise’s journey from naïve girl to headstrong woman, who has her heart broken but ultimately finds her true self. Louise’s hardships are chronicled sympathetically and objectively by Blackwood, as readers witness a tale woven with psychological insight and a uniquely crafted depth.It is perhaps Louise’s internal life that interests Blackwood the most. The setting for Oasis is the shifting sands and aching sunsets of Libya, but it is, more than anything, her protagonist’s internal journey - from romantic dilettante to self-awakened woman - that gives this contemporary bildungsroman its unique power.