The Nearness of You

Because of her mother's mental illness and her own struggles with it, Suzette Kendall, fearful of passing along the genes, has never wanted to be a mother. Her husband, Hyland, who was traumatized at a young age by the loss of his family, yearns to be a dad. He proposes that they try a surrogate. Suzette and Hyland meet with prospective surrogates and choose Dorrie. A poor young woman without children who will use the surrogacy money for college, Dorrie quickly becomes attached to the baby growing inside of her. Instead of showing up for the first sonogram, she runs away to raise the baby herself, a decision that has far-reaching consequences. The author brings up interesting questions about motherhood while the shifting narrators allow readers to consider these questions from a variety of viewpoints. The short length of the book, however, doesn't allow her to develop fully these questions nor the plot and characters. The time jumps are jarring, and the ending feels rushed.