Dear Thing

Romily has volunteered to carry a child for Ben and Claire, friends she has watched struggle to conceive for years. She assumes the arrangement will be simple. She is a single mother already and has no wish for another child. What she does not anticipate is the intense emotional pull that grows inside her, a pull that puts her bond with the couple at risk and may even strain their marriage.

By the end of the story, three friends are bound to one baby, and two women see themselves as its mother. Each must weigh what they want against what they owe one another, and the choice in front of them has no easy answer.

The novel is candid and emotional, but it leans toward hope. It will appeal to readers who enjoy character-driven fiction about family, friendship and the limits of selflessness.