The Nearness of You: A Novel

Suzette Kendall is a brilliant, respected heart surgeon who has never wanted children. Her aversion to motherhood is rooted partly in her career ambitions–and, more seriously, in her desire to stop her family’s history of mental illness in its tracks. But when her husband, Hyland, insists on having a family, Suzette agrees to choose a surrogate. Hyland and the surrogate will be the baby’s biological parents. When they meet Dorrie, they ignore their doubts and move forward with the process. However, instead of joining Suzette and Hyland at the first ultrasound appointment, Dorrie disappears.

As the narrative winds through the viewpoints of Suzette, Dorrie, and other characters, Ward reveals what happens after Dorrie flees–including the spiral of unfortunate consequences that brings this patchwork family together in circumstances none of them could have foreseen. All is not exactly as it seems, however, and Ward holds back her last surprise until the book’s final chapters. Questioning the very idea of what makes a woman a mother, Nearness suggests that no mistake is too terrible to forgive to ensure a child’s happiness.