Leaving Haven: A Novel

by Kathleen McCleary

Overview

In Leaving Haven, Kathleen McCleary, author of A Simple Thing, explores the intricacies of love, friendship, and parenthood.

Georgia longs for a baby, but she's had miscarriage after miscarriage since her daughter was born more than a decade ago. Through a miraculous egg donation, Georgia is thrilled to find herself pregnant—until she makes a startling discovery that changes her mind about how much she really wants the baby…

Georgia’s best friend, Alice, has a happy teenage daughter, a faithful husband, and a perfectly organized life. But her world spins off its axis when she falls for a man who is everything she knows she doesn’t want…

Leaving Haven is a provocative and touching novel that will appeal to readers of contemporary fiction and fans of Jodi Picoult, Luanne Rice, and Kristin Hannah.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062106261
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/01/2013
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Kathleen McCleary is a journalist and author whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Ladies' Home Journal, More, and Good Housekeeping. Her second novel, A Simple Thing (2012), was recently nominated for the Library of Virginia Literary Awards. She has taught writing as an adjunct professor at American University and now teaches with Writopia Labs. She lives in northern Virginia with her husband and two daughters.

Editorial Reviews

What would make a mother walk away from a hospital without the child she fought so hard to carry? This suspenseful family drama circles eloquently around truth, loyalty and commitment - a complex examination of temptation and choices, and of facing the repercussions of our actions.” — Nichole Bernier, author ofThe Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D.

“In Leaving Haven McCleary deftly explores themes of love, marriage, family and its rupture in moments that are so well told they feel like you are living them. I couldn’t put it down.” — Catherine McKenzie, international best selling author of Arranged and Forgotten Catherine McKenzie, international best selling author of Arranged and Forgotten Catherine McKenzie, international best selling author of Arranged and Forgotten

From the Publisher

In Leaving Haven McCleary deftly explores themes of love, marriage, family and its rupture in moments that are so well told they feel like you are living them. I couldn’t put it down.

Catherine McKenzie

What would make a mother walk away from a hospital without the child she fought so hard to carry? This suspenseful family drama circles eloquently around truth, loyalty and commitment - a complex examination of temptation and choices, and of facing the repercussions of our actions.

Nichole Bernier

Georgia and Alice have seen each other through the tribulations of marriage and motherhood, becoming the best of friends, but can their relationship survive the deepest betrayal? McCleary's (A Simple Thing, 2012, etc.) novel opens with Georgia Bing abandoning her newborn son in the hospital. The events leading to that act are told in multiple flashbacks, alternating between Alice's and Georgia's perspectives, a strategy that unfortunately slows the action to a sluggish pace. A successful baker, Georgia is happily married to John, a brilliant chef, whose smoldering eyes caught her attention at first glance. Raised by a vivacious but neglectful single mom, Alice found love and security with Duncan, a lawyer who recently quit his posh partnership to work for a nonprofit. Desperate for a second child, Georgia has tried every fertility treatment. Alice is keenly aware of the sad irony that Georgia, a woman so perfect for motherhood that she could be a baby whisperer, cannot conceive. After learning that Georgia's younger sister is pregnant and cannot donate an egg, Alice offers Georgia her own eggs, a gift that sets a course for joy and heartbreak. Meanwhile, Alice's and Georgia's teenage daughters are embroiled in a bullying incident, which Duncan does not worry about and Georgia (with her high-risk pregnancy) should not worry about. So, Alice begins to navigate the murky waters of teenage drama, and she finds herself confiding in a man who offers a sympathetic ear. Supportive conversations lead to irresistible attraction. Soon, Alice has put everything in jeopardy, and she can't even turn to Georgia for help. Nor can Georgia turn to Alice when she discovers something that challenges her ability to love the child she tried so hard to conceive. McCleary's richly drawn characters face intriguing challenges, yet the tale lacks momentum.

Kirkus Reviews