Who is Sarah Hearn?

Sarah Hearn is a writer, former diplomat and aid worker, and an OBE recipient. She has worked with the British Government, NATO, the United Nations, and leading universities. Sarah now writes philosophical and darkly satirical commentary on global affairs from Florida, USA, where she lives with her family.

Where has Sarah Hearn been published?

Sarah has published on global rules and norms with Lexington Books, and has written publications for well-known universities and international organizations, including the United Nations, OECD, and World Bank. Quiet Heretics is her first literary novel.

What does OBE stand for?

OBE stands for the Order of the British Empire, an honour awarded by the United Kingdom for distinguished service. Sarah received it for her work in Afghanistan.

What is Quiet Heretics about?

Quiet Heretics is a literary novel about the fragility of our age–the pressure to perform virtue rather than do good. Set on the world’s grandest stage at the United Nations, the book asks: Are we good if our goodness needs an enemy?

Is Quiet Heretics based on real events?

No. Quiet Heretics is fiction, not memoir. The book draws on Sarah’s insider experiences and outsider observations to explore global truths through a blend of tragedy and dark absurdity. The characters and scenes are entirely fictional.

Why write a literary novel about the United Nations?

Because the UN is both deadly serious and unintentionally tragic. Created to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, it often falls short. The novel explores the daily institutional absurdities and the complex political and psychological challenges of governing the world with physical mandates in a digital age.

The book is not anti-UN. It is passionately for the UN Charter, but warns about what we risk becoming despite the promises humanity made in 1945.

Who would read this book?

Readers who enjoy political satire (Catch-22, Yes, Minister, The Thick of It, Thank You for Smoking), moral philosophy (Hannah Arendt’s Banality of Evil), and anyone curious about how prestigious and opaque institutions work behind the scenes.