The Baby Lottery

by Kathryn Trueblood

Five women, friends at college, find their interlocking relationships strained when one of them, in her late thirties decides to have a second trimester abortion after delaying the decision in hopes... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1579621511
• ISBN13: 9781579621513
• Release Date: June 2007
• Publisher: Permanent Press (NY)
• Length: 247 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Poignant and Real

Simple put, this book ain't for sissies. It tackles all the hard stuff--abortion, alcoholism, life, death, infertility, friendships, single-motherhood, relationships, divorce, career. And there isn't a reprieve throughout the entire book. It's wonderfully crafted, throwing you into the lives of five women in their late thirties--all of them having known each other for years--and let's you live their lives for a moment. From the beginning THE BABY LOTTERY by Kathryn Trueblood tackles tough issues. In a Tell It Like It Is sorta writing style. Each woman has a different perspective. Different opinion. And let me be the first to tell you they clash. This is a hot topic, why wouldn't it mimic real life? Kathryn doesn't back down one bit from the heart of the matter on all accounts. Even including the pasts of every character, down the the truth of it all--they've shared one common element. Abortion. And now it's finding its way back into their lives again. Riveting commentary. Heartbreaking choices. And real life women adorn the pages of the book. And keep you reading until the end.

Real women's fiction

Kathryn Trueblood's "The Baby Lottery" hits the mark on so many levels. These are real women struggling with decisions that could break your heart, but Trueblood doesn't do any cheap emotional button-pushing. Her writing is honest, elegant, and spare, cutting to the core of some tricky issues like late-term abortion. Fleshing out the story are Trueblood's signature complex characters who refuse to be stuffed into stereotypes, showing the different ways that actual people think and choose when under intense pressure.. And talk about zinger one-liners! Read it and laugh and cry; come away with hope and understanding.

Heart-felt and moving

The Baby Lottery is a wonderful read, heart-felt and moving. When it comes to contemporary family issues, Ms. Trueblood has a clear and unflinching eye. I've heard it said that a judge knows a decision is a right one when neither side is satisfied. This book does that an so much more, blowing apart the insane media-driven notion that there are only two sides to a story. Moreover, this multi-threaded story line includes some of the best mother/teenage daughter interaction I've ever read.

It may be pink, but it's not just for girls...

Even though this novel revolves around the reproductive choices, efforts and consequences for five different women, as a single dad I found I could identify with a lot of the characters and their daily parenting struggles (for those characters who had kids). And I very much recognized the characters who, for one reason or another, did not or could not have children. Some of the characterizations are downright spooky in their ability to evoke memories of other people I have known in my life... There is a controversy of sorts at the center of this novel, one that affects the five friends and intelligent readers alike. Strict followers of religious dogma may throw up their blinders once they discover this central conflict, but everybody else will find a thoughtful, well-balanced discussion of a very difficult subject. And to Trueblood's great credit, we don't just learn about this subject by direct discussion, but also by comparing the controversial figure's actions to the lives of the other women who have chosen different paths. I see that some of the tags here identify the book as chick lit, christian fiction and even "christian chick lit," but I think all of those categories are far too narrow. Trueblood's treatment of her characters and their lives are far too balanced and dig far too deep to be so easily labeled. As a man venturing into such a presumably feminine novel, I was very impressed to find the same balanced, thought-provoking treatment of the male characters, rather than the usual burping, toenail-picking, hairy butt-scratching caricatures that other, lazier authors would resort to. In short, these are all real people with real dilemmas, and Trueblood's multi-layered narrative takes you into their real lives at angles you may not have considered. I'd recommend it to any man who cares about the women in his life, or his role in their lives, or anybody feeling like they've somehow failed as a parent or a partner because they haven't been able to pull off a Norman Rockwell-like nuclear family. Despite the characters' varied approaches at life, one thing that struck me at the end of the novel was how they were all really looking for the same things, the same things that the rest of us are looking for. And Trueblood's novel shows us that there is certainly (and thankfully) more than one way to find and cherish those important things.