Little Mercies

Gudenkauf (One Breath Away) is back with a riveting, fast-paced story. Ellen Moore, a social worker and harried mother of three, is bowed under the weight of her caseload of suffering children. Her life is shattered when, engrossed with an emergency case, she accidentally leaves her 11-month-old daughter in a hot car. Suddenly her baby is struggling for life, her employers are accusing her of child neglect, and her marriage is under tremendous strain. The breakneck pace of Ellen's disintegration is tempered with alternating chapters from the point of view of ten-year-old Jenny Briad, who has a loving but ne'er-do-well father and a mysterious past. This work combines page-turning intensity with deep questions about priorities and the sacrifices women make in their lives. The portrayal of the frenzied speed of a mother's life leading ultimately to tragedy is similar to Lisa Genova's Left Neglected, but with the additional horror of every parent's worst fear: harming their own child.