This Beating Heart

This Beating Heart
Genre : Fiction
Published : 18 Aug 2022 - Weidenfeld & Nicolson
WHAT IF THE FAMILY YOU WANT... ...ISN'T THE FAMILY YOU NEED?

'It was up to her now; everything was up to her; she needed only to make a choice and step towards it, out from the shadows and into the light.'

At forty-three, Christina Lennox thought her future was settled: marriage to Ed, children, a house of their own. But this is not that future: her marriage has ended, fractured by the stress of five rounds of IVF and two miscarriages. Overwhelmed by grief and disappointment, Ed has relocated to San Francisco and Christina's dream of becoming a mother rests on persuading him to let her go ahead with one final round of IVF, using the last frozen embryo they have stored at the clinic. But when Ed drops a bombshell that threatens to undo everything Christina has strived for, she is forced, once again, to realign her plans. Is this the end of her dream, or an opportunity to consider a different - perhaps happier - version of her future?

Reviews

Barnett’s well-crafted backlist is big on emotional acuity and this novel is no different, forging from Christina’s grief an insistence that we think more creatively when it comes to happiness, and especially to the shapes that our families might take.

The Observer

A warm, emotional story with brilliant characters

Best

An uplifting tale about new beginnings.

Heat

...[a] beautifully told tale of disappointed motherhood..."<br />

Daily Mail

Barnett writes beautifully about relationships and the possibility of finding a very different happy ever after from the one you were expecting.

Sunday Express Magazine

Laura Barnett weaves an inspiring story about shifting perspective and finding light in the darkness.

Woman’s Own

A compelling read.

Closer

What makes Barnett's novel so appealing is the realistic steps taken by Christina so that she may improve her own life - it's not easy but, as Barnett suggests, nothing worth doing ever is. <br />

Sunday Business Post

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