So here’s the deal. I almost didn’t make it past the first chapter. I even tweeted that I was fully prepared for this book to piss me off all the way through.

The premise of this book is that Suzette doesn’t want children. Her mother has a mental illness so bad that she is hospitalized (we never meet her), and Suzette also suffers from “issues.” Those issues are vague, but referred to throughout the book, and she’s deathly afraid of anyone close to her getting sick too. She was very clear on the first date with Hyland that she was not going to have children. They made a decision, she was firm on it, he seemed happy.

But after 15 years of marriage, he suddenly decided that he wanted a baby, and pretty much gaslights her into thinking she wants one too. So they get a surrogate. And then he spends the rest of the book making her feel HORRIBLE for being a successful pediatric surgeon with a busy schedule–even though she has ALWAYS BEEN a successful pediatric surgeon with a busy schedule.

This is my absolute worst nightmare–and my husband knows this–that he will suddenly decide 15 years into our marriage that he wants children. It is the cruelest thing a person could do, in my opinion–worse than cheating–to go against something so fundamental in your marriage foundation.

I know, I’m ranting, but this is all just to say that it soured my opinion of the book from the first chapter–and it only went downhill from there. I did finish it, and had that big nope in the beginning not happened…I don’t know, there were a few other things that made me go ehhhhhhhhh…

The story certainly has hooks, and I could see people liking this. But it has way more problems than good things.

Love the romance, drama and just about everything this book has to offer. Such a great read!!

Suzette and Hyland Kendall have been childless for 15 years. Suzette's childhood was less than stellar and she has no desire to pass on the genetics that were responsible for her mother's mental illness that  eventually landed her in a mental institution. Suzette agrees to using a surrogate to carry a child with Hyland's genes. It's a whirlwind of emotions and choices but the finally find the "right" candidate. 

Dorrie is young and goes into the surrogacy naively but the tides change and she realizes she can't give up the child. She disappears without a trace, leaving Suzette and Hyland heartbroken and searching for their child until a seemingly ordinary day, when a knock on the door changes their lives once again.

This book is full of emotions and the characters narrate their own stories. They each have their own voice and their passages are easy to follow. I related to Suzette on so many levels but I suspect many will hate her or not understand her because they can't possible understand or get past her not want children.  I found myself engrossed in this novel and left wanting more.

Be warned that the start of the book is the "end" of the book and many readers my not like the ending but I LOVED it. I can say this is her best book to date and I just might pick up some of her other books that I have yet to read.

Storyteller, Amanda Eyre Ward returns following (2015) The Same Sky with another thought-provoking and gripping tale of four wounded characters in THE NEARNESS OF YOU. (Beautiful cover ).

What does it take to be a real mother? With highly charged topics, Ward delves deeply into the emotions of the human psyche and what it takes to be a family. A surrogate young girl goes missing, disrupting the lives of all that are near and dear to the unborn child. 

Set in Houston, Texas –Hyland and Suzette Kendell are married and celebrating their anniversary. It is the year, 2000 and the couple have been married for fifteen years and approaching forty years of age. 

Suzette is a successful heart surgeon and Hyland an architect. He came from a horrific childhood and he would love to have children and a family. His parents had been killed in a car accident when he was eleven and grew up in the foster care system. He now works from home and desperately wants a family. 

However, workaholic Suzette had been upfront from the beginning, she did not want children. Her mom was mentally ill and in an institution. She most likely would always remain there until she died. 

Her father had died years earlier and her mom went a little crazy- erratic and paranoid, causing serious trauma for Suzette during her childhood. She too was sick in college; however, controls it with her meds. They continue to keep her mother in a nice facility and sometimes she tells herself her mom is really dead. 

Suzette does not want to pass this sickness to children. She wants it to end here. She could not be the easy, breezy, fertile wife Hyland might have wanted; however, she would not be made to feel that she was lacking. 

They are now ready for surrogacy. Hyland would sire a child. He was delighted with the opportunity of becoming a father. He would medically impregnate someone younger who would carry the baby to term. Suzette could keep working without interruption. It was a win-win. Or so she thought.

Suzette panicked and was scared, similar to PTSD, due to her own childhood dramas. They find what they think is the perfect candidate and was going to pay her $35,000 to cover the cost. However, the gal backs out due to Suzette being busy with work. She was not going to apologize for doing her job. 

In the meantime, Suzette deals with life and death daily. Giving life after ending life with tragedy at the hospital. She cared deeply for her patients and she connected better with the babies than the adults. Each was a reminder.

Months pass and there is another candidate. This girl was much younger and inexperienced. She had never been married and never had a child, like the first candidate. 

As a last resort, they decide on Dorrie (age 21). She gets pregnant quickly. We hear from different POVs. She worked at Sea-o-Rama feeding penguins. She wanted to escape her life and get off Galveston Island. She could finally move away from her mother and her dull disappointment—away from the stories about her deadbeat dad. It meant a bigger life: college, and a chance to succeed. When she had seen the ad, she knew this was the only way to attain money for college. A way out. 

However, could she lease her body, and then hand over her child? She would trade nine months of her life. She earned less than $10.00 hour at her current job. The gift of life. It was love versus money. Which would win out in the end? Could she go through with it? Or escape? 

She could drive away from Texas and make a life on Grand Isle, Louisiana. She needed to escape her own sad mom’s depression and alcoholism. However, without money, how would she live and support herself and her unborn child? How will Suzette and Hyland go on knowing their child was out there somewhere?

Dorrie is a dreamer and wants to wrap herself around books and living in a seaside cottage. She dreams of a life with her baby. She is immature and not thinking of how. She cannot live in a motel with no money, especially when this couple had money and would have the cops or PIs after her.

On the run, she meets another lonely girl, Jayne taking care of her own disturbed junkie prostitute mom. Another young girl, trying to escape her surroundings for a better life. Will they find solace in one another? Jayne is intrigued by the girl in room 29. They hit the road together. 

Later when an illness arrives, and more problems, things change. However, there are still some secrets which are not revealed until the end. 

The author takes us on a hauntingly beautiful emotional heartfelt journey. Told with compassion - from tragedy, pain, loss, and love. What it means to be a mother. A family. When matters of the heart are conflicted. From “The Nearness of You" an old Ella Fitzgerald song, to a desperate search for a mother.

Can a woman who fixes hearts mend one close to her own? Fast forward fifteen years later. 

Every character is searching for a mother’s love and acceptance. Guilt. A yearning for atonement. Courage. Your heart goes out to all the flawed characters (they do make some poor choices); a situation when there seems there is no easy way out. Someone will be hurt. What it takes to be a family. They are not always the traditional ones. 

I loved the quote: “The mother is the one who stays in the room.” (no matter how difficult, when she wants to run and hide). 

I read two moving and beautiful books in a row about motherhood. They come in all shapes and sizes each with their own set of struggles. Highly recommend both: Amanda Eyre Ward’s THE NEARNESS OF YOU and Sally Hepworth’s The Mother's Promise.

A special thank you to Random House and NetGalley for a complimentary reading copy in exchange for an honest review. 

JDCMustReadBooks

Thanks for my copy but I'm passing on this one. I don't like to review books unless I can be enthusiastic, and this book wasn't to my taste.

Such a gorgeous, gorgeous cover! To be honest, I think the reason why I gave this 3 stars and not 4 is just the fact that sometimes I don't really relate to the characters because I haven't really been in their shoes just yet and there was too much drama (in my opinion). It's an excellent book but to make a suggestion, I think this would be brilliant as a movie. I just, I see elements of a dramatic movie somewhere in there.

I enjoyed this book and the manner in which motherhood is explored from two very different angles. At the end, I'm. It sure I was as satisfied as I would have liked to have been, however I am not disappointed. I guess I could say it left me pondering what the future holds for everyone involved. Sequel, no. I don't think so. I think it is best left to the reader to decide how the characters move forward.

Any mother should read this book.  I looked forward to reading as the deep personalities of all of the players evolved.   From the filth of dirty hotels to posh New England boarding schools, your heart will cry for poor Eloise.   Great read from NetGalley, thank you..

The Nearness of You is a novel that asks the question, "What makes one a mother?"  Suzette's marriage to Hyland is turned upside down when he springs it on her that he wants to have a child after they agreed for years that they would not have them.  Suzette is still healing from the memories of her mother's mental illness and does not want to pass the genes along to a child.  Suzette agrees to allow Hyland to have a child with a surrogate, Dorrie.  Once Dorrie becomes pregnant with Hyland and Suzette's child, she disappears.  While Suzette was not completely on board with the idea in the first place, she searches desperately for the child.

When I read the synopsis for this book, I believed that it had great potential.  Surrogacy, as a topic for a novel, is very current issue.  The book read very quickly; maybe too quickly.  The story felt rushed and did not leave enough time for the characters to develop and for any kind of suspense to build.  This would have been one story that would have benefited from a slower, more emotionally descriptive story.  There are some surprises at the end of the story but they are not as emotional as I have come to expect from a novel in the women’s literature genre.  

One thing I really liked about this book was the voice that the characters had.  Ward is very skilled in giving each character his or her own unique voice.  You can hear Dorrie’s southern accent and youth while you are reading the words.  Even though the characters of Jayne and Suzette are not told from the first person, you can still feel their different personalities come through on the page.

This book was great at making one think about motherhood and what it means.  Is a mother the one who conceived and gave birth to a child or does a child belong to the mother that has put in the time and energy?  It also makes one think about how family heredity is not always a determining factor in how a child will turn out and neither is a home filled with all of the “right” things.  As Eloise said, her mother spent time reading parenting books that she could have spent with her.  Sometimes, it is just better to be there than it is to do all of the right things.  Another really great book about motherhood and the complexity of mother-parent relationships is Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran. 

Though this is not a book I would read again, I did enjoy reading some of it.  I would recommend it for fans that enjoy women's lit but who want a very quick read, one where the narrative and characters don't have to be as developed.

Interesting treatment of a situation that's becoming more and more common - surrogacy.  Who is the 'real' mother?  The characters were sympathetic and the story intriguing.  There were even a few surprise twists in the story.  An entertaining read.

I love Amanda Eyre Ward’s writing and have never, ever been disappointed in a book that she has written. Never, ever. This one pulled me in and didn’t let me go until I was crying at the end.

Suzanne and Hyland Kendall have been married for 15 years. Suzanne is a noted heart surgeon and Hyland is an architect/artist. Hyland suprises Suzanne one day when he says he wants a child. They had discussed never having children because Suzanne is afraid of the mental illness her mother had and some issues of her own. She didn’t want this passed on to a child. Hyland says that a surrogate is the way to go and although Suzanne is hesitant, she agrees. They end up choosing Dorrie who is not your usual surrogate. She is young, has never had children before and wants the money to get out of the life she leads now. Dorrie does get pregnant right away but once she does, she realizes that she cannot part with her baby and disappears. The search for her takes almost two years until her mother appears at the Kendalls doorstep with a little girl who is sick. Suzanne and Hyland raise Eloise and life goes on until Eloise starts having some trouble and they send her to a boarding school. Eloise decides that she wants to find her birth mother and see if what she is feeling has something to do with her. Are they alike? And Dorrie has been keeping something else from the Kendalls all along.

The story is told in the voices of Suzanne, Dorrie, Eloise and even a bit by Hyland. This worked perfectly with the way it flowed because we got to see all the different sides. No one is right or  wrong. I seem to be on a roll with books that have different characters’ perspectives lately. This is the second one and I am reading another one now. I absolutely loved this book. I loved the characters. I got the characters and where they were all coming from. And yes, I was crying at the end. “The mother is the one that stays in the room.” Love that line and it still gets me teary. Now I will wait patiently for Amanda Eyre Ward’s next book.

I happily received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of the book was very good. An affluent husband and wife choose a surrogate to  carry a child to term and then hand the child over at birth. What happens when the surrogate decides that she wants to keep the baby? The story was told through different perspectives, which was fine. However, some parts seemed a bit unbelievable. I felt that the plot was a bit under-developed and some unnecessary parts were elaborated upon that could have been left out entirely. The "twist" was totally predictable.

3.5 stars. Last year, I read [book:The Same Sky|22716408] by Amanda Eyre Ward. I know I liked it, but it didn't leave a huge impression on me. I suspect this will be my long term reaction to The Nearness of You. It's a quick read and I felt engrossed while I read it, but I'm not sure it will stay with me. Suzette is a cardiac surgeon who carries the weight of her sad childhood in her past, and her husband Hyland also lives with the aftermath of a tragic childhood. Suzette and Hyland make a deal to have Dorie act as their surrogate. Dorrie is only 21 years old. Things don't work out as anyone planned. And I will say  no more about the story to avoid spoilers. The story is told from a few points of view at different points in time. It's a bit of a page turner and it's hard not to get caught up in the characters' emotions. If there's a core theme it's the complexity of motherhood -- fierce love, self doubt, mistakes made out of love and the price paid by children who don't have mothers who are physically or emotionally present. I wouldn't say that there's a message but rather a constellation of complex circumstances and open questions about who could have done what differently. Again, I enjoyed it while I read. I didn't love any of the characters, but I appreciated that they weren't unidimensional. And I really wanted to know what happened at the end -- although I'll be curious to see what others think of the end. I can't end this review without mentioning that I love the gorgeous cover. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

Provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

This was a very interesting read. The main character is a woman who is at the pinnacle of her career, happily married and life seems to be perfect. Until her husband decides he wants children after all.  A tale of madness, depression, loss, loneliness, surrogacy with moments of happiness and ultimately hope, this was a gripping read.  I just didn't like the open ending.

The Nearness of You by Amanda Eyre Ward is my latest read. I can't get over the cover now after reading the book because I feel like the flowers each represent the characters. I see the top flower as Dorrie and the closed bud as Eloise. The fully open yellow flowers is Suze the to me. I love the colors on the cover and feel like it is intriguing enough that I would have bought this book if I didn't get an ARC.

So for starters, the book is about Hyland and Suzette Kendall, a middle aged couple who when faced with infertility, turn to Dorrie, a young potential surrogate who is more than eager to help. Dorothy 'Dorrie' Muscarello is young and broke but has a chance to change it around if she attends the University she has been accepted to. Just one issue. She can't afford tuition. Being a surrogate for the Kendall seems to be her one way ticket out and she takes it. Will Suzette be able to love a child that isn't hers biologically? And will she even be able to bond when she didn't even want kids to begin with? Will Dorrie be able to say goodbye when the baby is born and leaves with the Hylands? So many questions and with less than 250 pages, there is so little time. No worries thiugh, Amanda Eyre Ward does a good job of telling the story and of weaving in and out of each characters pov to get the reader attached to seeing where things go.

This book evokes so many emotions and questions. What does it take to be a mother? Is it possible to love a child that isn't biologically yours the same as you would a child that is yours?

I really enjoyed the way each chapter tells a different character pov. I especially liked Dorrie and feel like she made me feel so invested in seeing what happens.

My one complaint about this book is the ending. I felt like I had been on the ride of my life and the ending just left me dissatisfied and wanting more. It ended too abruptly for me. Overall I give this story 4/5 stars!

Thanks to Random Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book before it's February 21st release date. I was given a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Get your copy today, it's a good read! :)

The Nearness of You delves into the world of surrogacy, parenthood, marriage, secrets, and mental illness amongst others.  However, I felt that there were some gaps and unrealistic sections.  In addition, the big surprise had been hinted at when the surrogate gave birth.  All in all it was interesting, if a bit flawed.

This is the first Ward book I've read, and unfortunately, while the writing and the premise were good, I felt like the book had too much tragedy for one group of characters, and ultimately I felt like there was too much going on plot-wise.

The Nearness of You By Amanda Eyre Ward

Suzette is a surgeon living in Houston with her husband Hyland who is an architect. When Suzette and Hyland got married they both agreed on having no children. Now suddenly Hyland has changed his mind, he now wants a child. Suzette has had a history of mental illness in her family and she is stabilized, regarding her own mental heath. They choose to use a surrogate.

Dorrie is the surrogate chosen by Hyland to be the one to deliver a new baby to Hyland and Suzette. When Dorie doesn't show up for the sonogram appointment, Hyland can't reach Dorie by telephone. Hyland drives to Dories house and finds a note from Dorie that she has left and she is never coming back. The woman at the fertility clinic says that the clinic is not responsible and it is well past time to close. On the way home Hyland pulls the vehicle over to the side of the road saying he doesn't feel well enough to drive, so Suzette drives.

The novel alternates between different character's points of view. It introduces a new character named Jayne. It is obvious that the story is taking a new direction. Amanda Eyre Ward is a capable storyteller. Who is Jayne and how does her character figure into the new direction the story is taking. I can't give anything more away or I will spoil the story for you. An engaging well written story.

Thank you to Net Galley, Amanda Eyre Ward and Ballantine Book

A history of severe mental health issues keeps Suzette Kendall from wanting to pass on her genes to any child, but she and her husband still want kids. Together, the couple finds a surrogate and begin the journey to parenthood.

Dorrie seems like the perfect woman to carry their child to term, but nothing in this journey goes as planned. What follows is a very emotional journey full of twists and turns.

The Nearness of You is told from several perspectives. Each chapter begins with a clear announcement of who is speaking, so there's never any confusion. I found myself engrossed in their story and all the problems and celebrations they encounter along the way.

Amanda Eyre Ward painted a very emotional story of motherhood. It starts in the present, goes back in time, and then travels forward again with an ease that lures you to keep reading. It's definitely a one sitting kind of book that made me very happy I chose it.

For a book that is only 240 pages, the characters in The Nearness of You by Amanda Eyre Ward certainly had a lot of ground to cover.  Mental illness, surrogacy, drug addiction and family relationships are all prevalent themes in this short, but ambitious novel. The prologue hooked me immediately and once I discovered that the main character, Suzette, was a highly esteemed heart surgeon at St. Luke’s in Houston I was completely emotionally invested.  St. Luke’s is the very hospital where my own father received his new heart almost three years ago.  The surgeons and staff we encountered during our stay there were absolutely as brilliant as Suzette is described.  The settings throughout the book (Houston, Galveston, Grand Isle, New Orleans) are all places that my family and myself regularly frequent so it was enjoyable to read a story where I was familiar with the surrounding environment.  I also appreciated the nod to literary greats scattered throughout the book, (Kate Chopin, Steven King, F. Scott Fitzgerald) and I loved that several of the characters were written as avid readers.

So, the synopsis. The Nearness of You centers around Hyland and Suzette Kendall.  Suzette is a dedicated and brilliant heart surgeon at the top of her field who is stunned when her husband Hyland tells her he wants to have a child.  Children were never something that Suzette envisioned for herself due to the demanding hours of her job and her background of severe mental illness. Hyland convinces her that if they went the route of surrogacy, they would avoid passing on anything genetic to their child.  Suzette reluctantly agrees to this and so they begin the process of finding the perfect surrogate for them.  Enter Dorothy Muscarello, a young woman with high hopes and big dreams of leaving her past behind and making something of herself.  She has been accepted to Rice University but is unable to afford the tuition on her own.  When the offer of surrogacy comes her way she sees it as the opportunity she has been waiting for to get out from under her mother’s roof and fund her way through college.  She meets with the Kendalls and everything is agreed upon.  Things begin to unravel fairly quickly however, once Dorrie becomes pregnant and starts to question her choice and role as surrogate.

This book had all the makings of a 5 star read.  There was a lot of heaviness packed into these short 240 pages and while several hard topics were briefly touched on, I did not feel that the author really delved in to the meat of the matter.  This story is told from multiple points of view and it did not always flow seamlessly to me.  Eloise went from a two year old child to a teenager in roughly a few chapters.  The information we are given about her upbringing with the Kendalls comes in brief flashbacks as Suzette rushes home in a moment of family crisis.  It is evident that Eloise is troubled and doesn’t feel like she belongs, but I wish there had been more back story to that part of the plot.   I also didn’t feel like Jayne needed her own chapters… that threw me a bit.  I wish we had been given more information about Suzette’s childhood.  It was obvious from the little that was written that Suzette lived through hell and I was very interested in the specifics as to how she got from where she was to the esteemed doctor that she turned out to be.   A LOT of time was spent describing Suzette performing operations.  I was fascinated by this and enjoyed reading about the surgeries, but I think the only reason that was is due to my emotional tie to St. Luke’s hospital.  These operations were not pertinent to the story itself, and I could see how it may distract from the main plot for some readers.

The ending was also a huge let down for me so that knocked down the star rating as well.  I don’t always need to have everything wrapped up with a nice, neat bow but to end it the way it did was just completely disappointing to me.  3 out of 5 stars.  Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.