God Bless the Child

Prepare to be swept away on an emotionally charged odyssey through the heartland of America in debut author Anne Shaw Heinrich's captivating novel, God Bless the Child (Speaking Volumes, Jun 7, 2024). Heinrich delves deep into the intricate relationship between Mary Kline, her compromised best friend, Pearl and Pearl’s daughter, Elizabeth. Through alternating perspectives, we're invited into Mary and Elizabeth’s lives spanning from childhood to adulthood in a darkly poignant exploration of family, love, and resilience.

Anne Shaw Heinrich, a seasoned writer with over 35 years of experience as a journalist, columnist, and nonprofit communications professional, brings her wealth of expertise to this compelling narrative. Anne deftly weaves a tale of love, loss, and redemption, exploring the bonds between mothers and daughters and how Elizabeth’s upbringing with her two misfit mothers created a disturbing adulthood filled with personal traumas brought on by an early abortion, mental health battles, and motherhood.

About the book: Mary Kline has always confronted the challenges of her obesity and infertility with unyielding determination, refusing to succumb to societal expectations. But she desires one thing above all; a child of her own. When her vulnerable friend Pearl unexpectedly finds herself pregnant, Mary steps forward as both caregiver to Pearl and guardian to her child, Elizabeth. Mary sees an opportunity in motherhood to heal the wounds of her own loveless past, but Elizabeth resents Mary, finding her repulsive and stifling her upbringing. As the years pass, Elizabeth grapples with unresolved anger and struggles with her mental health, seemingly destined to repeat the same mistakes with the family she makes for herself. Can Elizabeth break free from the pains of her adolescence finding forgiveness for her mothers' shortcomings, in order to become the mother she’s always wanted?

Anne Shaw Heinrich: Since she fell in love with writing in high school, Anne Shaw Heinrich has been a journalist, columnist, blogger and nonprofit communications professional. Her first article appeared in Rockford Magazine in 1987. She’s interviewed and written features on Beverly Sills, Judy Collins, Gene Siskel, and Debbie Reynolds. Anne’s writing has been featured in The New York Times bestseller The Right Words at the Right Time, Volume 2: Your Turn (Atria 2006) and Chicken Soup for the Soul's The Cancer Book: 101 Stories of Courage, Support and Love (2009). Anne's debut novel, God Bless the
Child, is the first in a three-book series, The Women of Paradise County, to be published by Speaking Volumes. She and her husband are parents to three adult children. Anne is passionate about her family, mental health advocacy and the power of storytelling.