The Two Week Wait

Two women from very different walks of life both desperately want babies, in Rayner’s new novel. There’s Lou, a lesbian whose health scare creates pressure to get pregnant sooner rather than later. And there’s Cath, whose cancer surgery has made her incapable of having children of her own. They cross paths indirectly as Lou donates an egg to an “egg sharing” program in exchange for subsidies for her own in vitro. Cath receives some of Lou’s eggs and the two women embark upon parallel journeys to motherhood: one finds success, while the other does not, and the process almost destroys her until she’s able to abandon her dreams of motherhood and focus instead on other people’s children. Rayner’s delicate, compassionate exploration of the struggles women face with fertility will resonate loud and clear with anyone struggling to have a family. To her credit, Rayner (One Moment, One Morning) resists the easy happy ending. While that may be more painful to read, it’s also more honest. Agent: Vivien Green; Gaia Banks, Sheil Land Associates, U.K. (Dec.)