Audiobook: Other People's Children: A Novel

An “engrossing debut” (Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me) novel about a couple whose baby dreams of adoption push them to do the unthinkable when their baby’s birth family steps into the picture.

How far would you go to save your family?

As soon as Gail and John Durbin bring home their adopted baby Maya, she becomes the glue that mends their fractured marriage.

But the Durbin’s social worker, Paige, can’t find the teenage birth mother to sign the consent forms. By law, Carli has seventy-two hours to change her mind. Without her signature, the adoption will unravel.

Carli is desperate to pursue her dreams, so giving her baby a life with the Durbins’ seems like the right choice—until her own mother throws down an ultimatum. Soon Carli realizes how few choices she has.

As the hours tick by, Paige knows that the Durbins’ marriage won’t survive the loss of Maya, but everyone’s life is shattered when they—and baby Maya—disappear without a trace.

Filled with heartrending turns, Other People’s Children is a “heartbreakingly dark, suspenseful exploration of the boundaries two women push to have a child” (Cara Wall, bestselling author of The Dearly Beloved) that you’ll find impossible to put down.

An “engrossing debut” novel (Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me) about a couple whose dreams of adoption push them to do the unthinkable when their baby’s birth family steps into the picture.

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO SAVE YOUR FAMILY?

As soon as Gail and Jon Durbin bring home their adopted baby Maya, she becomes the glue that mends their fractured marriage.

But the Durbin’s social worker, Paige, can’t find the teenage birth mother to sign the consent forms. By law, Carli has seventy-two hours to change her mind. Without her signature, the adoption will unravel.

Carli is desperate to pursue her dreams, so giving her baby a life with the Durbins seems like the right choice – until her own mother throws down an ultimatum. Soon Carli realizes how few choices she has.

As the hours tick by, Paige knows that the Durbins’ marriage won’t survive the loss of Maya, but everyone’s life is shattered when they—and baby Maya—disappear without a trace.

Filled with heartrending turns, Other People’s Children is a riveting page-turner you’ll find impossible to put down.

A riveting debut novel about a couple whose dream of adopting a baby is shattered when the teenage mother reclaims her child.

What makes a family?

Gail and Jon Durbin moved to the Chicago suburbs to set up house as soon as Gail got pregnant. But then she miscarried'once, twice, three times. Determined to expand their family, the Durbins turn to adoption. When several adoptions fall through, Gail's desire for a child overwhelms her.

Carli is a pregnant teenager from a blue-collar town nearby, with dreams of going to college and getting out of her mother's home. When she makes the gut-wrenching decision to give her baby up for adoption, she chooses the Durbins. But Carli's mother, Marla, has other plans for her grandbaby.

In Other People's Children, three mothers make excruciating choices to protect their families and their dreams'choices that put them at decided odds against one another. You will root for each one of them and wonder just how far you'd go in the same situation. This riveting debut is a thoughtful exploration of love and family, and a heart-pounding page-turner you'll find impossible to put down.