The Mothers

The riveting latest from Gannon (Chasing Chris Campbell) centers on a family drama inspired by a real-life in vitro fertilization mix-up. Grace and Dan Arden are in their mid-40s and about to embark on their seventh round of IVF. Facing emotional burnout, Grace is starting to suffer stress-related complications at her job. Meanwhile, Priya and Nick Archer have finally saved enough money to begin the IVF process after years of trying to conceive. But soon after starting the program, Priya discovers Nick has been sexting with women he meets online. As both Grace and Priya decide to forge ahead with embryo implantation, their appointments are scheduled for the same day at the same clinic. While things go smoothly for Grace, Priya’s treatments prove unsuccessful, and after Grace gives birth to a baby boy whose skin color is darker than either parent, she and Dan suspect the wrong embryo had been implanted yet decide to fight to keep their son even though he is biologically Priya’s. Priya, faced with the possibility other parents could raise her biological son, takes every legal recourse to gain custody of the boy. Gannon delivers an emotional punch with well-developed characters and an unapologetic look at infertility, marital struggles, and the parental rights issues that have arisen due to the prevalence of fertility treatment options. This heart-wrenching novel is hard to put down. [em](May) [/em]