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The Mothers

A Novel

ebook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

"Like all my favorite books, The Mothers is both heartbreaking and heartwarming, and it leaves you with a lot to think about after you turn the final page. I sobbed my way through this wonderful book."

-Sally Hepworth, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Sister


What if you gave birth to someone else’s child? An emotional family drama about two couples, one baby, and an unimaginable choice. Inspired by a real-life case of an IVF laboratory mix-up.


Grace and Dan Arden are in their forties and have been on the IVF treadmill since the day they got married. Six attempts have yielded no results, and with each failure a little piece of their hope dies.

Priya Laghari and her husband Nick Archer are being treated at the same fertility clinic, and while they don’t face the same time pressure as the Ardens, the younger couple have their own problems.

On the same day that Priya is booked for her next IVF cycle, Grace goes in for her final, last-chance embryo transfer. Two weeks later, both women get their results.

A year on, angry and heartbroken, one of the women learns her embryo was implanted in the other’s uterus and must make a devastating choice: live a childless life knowing her son is being raised by strangers or seek custody of a baby who has been nurtured and loved by another couple. 

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    • Booklist

      April 15, 2021
      Two Australian couples face an IVF nightmare in Gannon's compelling novel. Grace and Dan Arden are in their forties, and they have been trying to conceive a child for years. Priya Laghari and her husband, Nick Archer, are in their thirties, but they're having similar conception problems. Both couples are hoping the well-regarded Empona fertility clinic can make their dreams of parenthood a reality. Grace's thoughts are consumed by her desire for a baby, while Priya longs for a child but fears Nick is being unfaithful to her. Only one of these couples will conceive a child with Empona's help, but when one of the doctors discovers a grave mix up, all four find their fates intertwined. Gannon takes her time in the first half of the novel to fully introduce the characters, their relationships, and their struggles so that by the time the horrific error occurs, readers will truly sympathize with all involved. An absorbing take on a terrifying what-if scenario that embodies all the complexities and fears couples face when trying to conceive through IVF.

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Library Journal

      May 1, 2021

      Australian journalist Gannon's fourth novel (after Chasing Chris Campbell) is inspired by a real-life mix-up at an IVF lab. In this family drama, Dan and Grace Arden are a white couple in their 40s who are trying for a baby. They've gone through six rounds of IVF and are on their last chance. Priya and Nick Archer are also trying to conceive, and having marriage problems. They separate, and Priya decides to keep trying alone, using donor sperm from an Indian man so her baby will look more like her. Priya and Grace undergo their last IVF procedures on the same day. Grace becomes pregnant; Priya doesn't. But when the baby is born, it's clear that something went wrong. A legal battle ensues, over the question of who a mother is--the biological mother, or the one who carried and gave birth to the baby. VERDICT Heartstrings are pulled to the breaking point in this story of desperate desire for a child. With two couples and a terrible choice to make, there are plenty of ethical and emotional issues involved. This novel will appeal to readers interested in the topics of IVF or childbearing, though it may prove emotionally taxing for those readers as well.--Melanie Kindrachuk, Stratford P.L., Ont.

      Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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  • English

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