What We Carry

A Novel

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Pub Date Aug 10 2021 | Archive Date Jun 15 2021

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Description

WINNER OF THE 2021 AMERICAN BOOK FEST BEST BOOK AWARD
 
Fans of Caroline Leavitt will relish this rich, complex novel born of the author's own loss and grief, about how one can overcome tragedy through bravery and self-discovery.

Cassidy Morgan's life has always followed a carefully laid track: top education, fulfilling career, and marriage to the love of her life, Owen. The next logical step was starting a family. But when a late-term miscarriage threatens to derail everything she's worked so hard for, she finds herself questioning her identity, particularly what it means to be a mother. Unable to move past her guilt and shame, she realizes there's more to fix than a broken heart. Grief illuminates the weaknesses in her marriage and forces her to deal with her tumultuous relationship with her own mother.

Cassidy hopes her work as a veterinarian specializing in equine reproduction will distract her from the pain but instead finds that one of the cases she's working on shines a spotlight on the memory of her unborn son. For once in her life, Cassidy is left untethered and wondering why she wanted to become a mother in the first place. 

Then the unexpected happens when Cassidy becomes pregnant again. But the joy over her baby is tempered by her fear of another loss as well as her increasingly troubled marriage. Now, she must decide whether to let her pain hold her back or trust that there's still something to live for.
 
What We Carry is a thought-provoking response to the author's own miscarriage and lack of fiction surrounding the topic, that she and other women in her situation crave.
WINNER OF THE 2021 AMERICAN BOOK FEST BEST BOOK AWARD
 
Fans of Caroline Leavitt will relish this rich, complex novel born of the author's own loss and grief, about how one can overcome tragedy...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781643858470
PRICE $16.99 (USD)
PAGES 336

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Average rating from 43 members


Featured Reviews

Hopeful, beautiful and gut wrenching Cassidy’s story hit so close to home having experienced my own loss. Owen wanted nothing more than to make it OK and get back to normal when things are just not OK. The author took me on her journey to find peace. Great read!

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Heart wrenching story about the depths of love between a mother and her unborn child and the strain of miscarriage on our relationships with ourselves and those we love. This book explores moving forward in grief and how we can face our fears to not only move forward but progress towards our dreams. Great read and would highly recommend to anyone.

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What We Carry is an emotionally charged roller-coaster ride. A powerful and engrossing read.

We need more books like this in the world; Kalyn Fogarty tackles the topic of miscarriage—an experience which is too common, and yet not talked about enough. She takes on a journey with Cassidy Morgan, who is reeling after losing her child at twenty-weeks pregnant.

The story is told through alternating points of view from Cassidy, her husband Owen, her sister Claire, and their mother, which the author uses deftly to present a clever and thoughtful study on the destructive impact of grief.

Clearly borne of the author’s own pain and wisdom brought from the experience, Fogarty delves into how it feels to lose a child and the impact on all of Cassidy’s relationships. As her marriage with Owen starts unraveling, we feel his pain as she closes herself off from him. Instead of pulling them together, their shared tragedy risks splitting them apart—and exposes the cracks both in their marriage, and in Cassidy’s and Owen’s own family relationships.

A true page-turner. Layered, thoughtful, compelling and immersive, What We Carry had me rooting for Owen, Cassidy, frustrated at Cassidy’s mother’s narcissism and passive aggressive comments that aren’t helping anyone heal, and rooting for Cassidy and Owen, who love and need each other, now more than ever.

When Cassidy becomes pregnant again, she is rightly terrified, but it also opens a door to find light and hope, despite the fear.

An engrossing study of family dynamics under fire after tragedy, which left my heart torn for Owen and Cassidy, and begging for them to re-find comfort and optimism in each other.

Studded with beautiful and thought-provoking lines like “no-one gives you a manual for grief.” And “I never imagined ten years unraveling in ten days”, Fogarty is a new author with a clear voice- a debut author where you wish you could read more of their books right away- but I know I’ll just have to wait!

Poignant, thought-provoking. Perfect book club fiction, with so much to discuss. Filled with nuggets of wisdom about grief, love and life in general.

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