Caroline has it all: a loving husband, three gorgeous children, a happy extended family and a career she’s passionate about; so when she takes a mail-in DNA test on a lark, she expects the results to be nothing more than an interesting topic of conversation at a dinner party. She couldn’t be more wrong.
Sela’s life is falling apart around her. The recent loss of her mother, a devastating divorce and the reality of her own mortality are all conspiring to bury her in grief, but she can’t give in to despair because she has a two-year-old son to think about. For her, taking a DNA test could mean the difference between life and death.
In Jessica Strawser’s A Million Reasons Why (St. Martin’s Press), these two very different motivations lead to results that link Caroline and Sela in a way neither woman thought possible: they discover that not only are they connected, they’re half-sisters. And while this news shatters the idyllic world that Caroline has worked so hard for, it opens up a door of possibility for Sela. Could Caroline be Sela’s best hope for life and a future?
SISTERS, SECRETS, AND SAVING A LIFE
These unexpected sisters are thrust into a fledgling relationship just as Sela’s need for a kidney transplant reaches a fever-pitch. As they navigate unfamiliar waters, both women are confronted by their own misperceptions and closely held beliefs about motherhood, family and forgiveness. Unearthing more secrets than either could have ever imagined, Caroline and Sela fight to save what’s theirs even as they learn to care for one another.
A Million Reasons Why is perfect for book clubs and thoughtful readers. As the narrative toggles between Caroline and Sela, it’s impossible not to feel your heart tugged first in one direction and then another. What would you do? Is it courageous and loving to undergo major surgery for someone you barely know, and who, in many ways, destroyed the life you always wanted? Or is it foolish and unnecessary to risk everything for the stranger who ruined it all?
A COMPULSIVELY READABLE SLOW-BURN
The implications of Sela’s ask and Caroline’s decision have much broader consequences than only Sela’s life or death, though that alone would certainly be high enough stakes for one story. Every character is touched by their dilemma, and no matter what Caroline chooses to do, life will never be the same for anyone. “What ifs” abound, and readers will wrestle with their own beliefs and opinions from the very first page until the last.
Written in beautiful prose with a sensitive, measured hand, Jessica Strawser’s A Million Reasons Why is a compulsively readable slow-burn that is sure to touch the heart of everyone who reads it.
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About Jessica Strawser:
Jessica Strawser is editor-at-large at Writer’s Digest, where she was editorial director for nearly a decade. She’s the author of the book club favorites Almost Missed You and Not That I Could Tell, a Book of the Month selection and Barnes & Noble Best New Fiction pick for March 2018 (both St. Martin’s Press). Her third novel, Forget You Know Me, is forthcoming in February 2019. She has written for The New York Times Modern Love, Publishers Weekly and other fine venues, and is a popular conference speaker. Connect with her on Twitter at @jessicastrawser and on Facebook @jessicastrawserauthor. She lives with her husband and two children in Cincinnati, where she was named 2019 Writer-in-Residence for the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.
