The Baby Lottery

by Kathryn Trueblood

Five women, friends at college, find their interlocking relationships strained when one of them, in her late thirties decides to have a second trimester abortion after delaying the decision in hopes that her husband will change his mind. The novel records the voices of her four friends as they struggle to bridge the gap between what they think they should feel and what they discover they do feel. The friends are Nan, an obstetric nurse; Anastasia, a businesswoman; Jean, a former social worker; and Virginia, a community college professor. These women have all wrestled with and are still engaged by the questions of careers vs motherhood, marriage vs divorce, and pregnancy vs abortion. These are the issues that lie at the heart of this novel and make it so relevant for so many women. In The Baby Lottery, women's lives contrast painfully and one woman has repeated miscarriages; another has an abortion; one woman chooses to remain single; another stays married for security. Ultimately, like Nan, the reader may see why some friendships deteriorate and others prevail.

248 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2007

About the author

Kathryn Trueblood has been awarded the Rico Prize in Nonfiction, the Goldenberg Prize for Fiction and the Red Hen Press Short Story Award. Her work is situated firmly in the medical humanities. Her most recent book, _Take Daily As Needed_, treats parenting while chronically ill with the desperado humor the subject deserves (University of New Mexico Press, 2019). Her previous novel, _The Baby Lottery_, dealt with the repercussions of infertility in a female friend group (a Book Sense Pick in 2007). Her story collection, _The Sperm Donor’s Daughter_, takes a look at assisted reproduction and received a Special Mention for the Pushcart Prize in 2000. Trueblood’s stories and articles have been published in _Poets & Writers Magazine, the Bellevue Literary Review, Medical Literary Messenger, The Los Angeles Review, Glimmer Train, The Seattle Review, Zyzzyva_, and others. She is a professor of English at Western Washington University and a faculty member of The Red Badge Project, a non-profit organization serving active duty soldiers and veterans in Washington through the use of storytelling techniques.

Reviews

[Gregoryreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pink book cover? Oh, no! This must be Chick Lit. However, if there is such a thing as Chick Lit, then there also must be Dick Lit. Pulitzer-winning author Michael Chabon – "The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay," "Wonder Boys," "Moonglow" – has proposed that Literary Fiction itself is a genre. I propose that rather than pre-judge a book by its cover or suggest that it has limited appeal because it falls into a specific category of fiction, we set aside our predilections and prejudices and consider Kathryn Trueblood’s novel for what it is. "The Baby Lottery" is a story of how the complexities of contemporary life impact our relationships – friendships, romances, marriages – and how each of us responds to the stresses that bind us together and pull us apart. Trueblood’s story deals with universal life themes. And she presents it through intimate views into the lives of her characters, and engaging prose. Highly recommended.

gregoryreads
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[Anita Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

So many typos and punctuation errors that it was annoying (Cheerio's? Pushs? Really? I checked a few times to make sure I didn't receive an advance copy). The author or editor didn't understand how to use quotation marks or commas correctly, either. As an editor, this kills me.

Oh, and the book was pretty boring, too. No depth whatsoever. But honestly, the grammatical errors and typos were so distracting that even if it had a plot, wouldn't have noticed.

[Therese Dotray-Tulloch · Rating 3 out of 5]

An advanced Reader Copy of five women who have been friends since college. An enjoyable read.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just read a review of this book on a website where a friend is getting a story published -- Mamazine. It sounds interesting: http://www.mamazine.com/Pages/feature...

** Update **

This book is a really quick read. I thought the characters were very well developed and believable and found the story engaging and true-to-life. It's a story of 5 women in their late 30s who have been friends since college. Two are married, one is divorced, one is separated, and the other has never been married; some have children and others don't. The reader learns about each woman through her own voice as well as through the voices of her friends because each chapter is narrated by a different character. The central issue of the story is that one of the married friends is pregnant and wants to have an abortion because her husband will leave her if she keeps the baby. This throws a wedge in some friendships -- particularly with the divorced friend whose infertility was a main factor in her divorce. It brings up a lot of the insecurities of all 5 women and leads to judgment as well as efforts at understanding and compassion.

I found the book very engaging and enjoyed reading it. But I didn't really feel there was a beginning/middle/end to the story. It was just a snapshot from a moment in these women's lives, but at the end there is no tidy resolution. It could have kept going for another hundred pages or it could have ended before it did. So, I guess if I think about the "point" of this book, I would say there really wasn't one. That's why I only gave it 3 stars. I also get irritated when there are misspellings and other typos in published materials, so that distracted me as well. There was a chronic problem with quotation marks in the book. But overall I did enjoy reading about each of these women -- they were very real and I really felt as if I knew them. I imagine they are based pretty closely on real-life people.

[Shana · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover of The Baby Lottery, by Kathryn Trueblood, is hot pink. It absolutely screams CHICK LIT at you, but it claims that it is not. I’m not convinced that it’s not, but I’ll give it a point for not being about yet another thirty-something woman learning the “harsh” lessons of life, like how money doesn’t buy you happiness or that sometimes you fall for jerks. Not to knock chick lit, but I prefer to save it for times when I’m desperate or need something really easy because my mind is fried from school reading.

What I did like about this novel is that it dealt with the issue of abortion in what I would consider a fairly respectful way. It didn’t generalize (too much) and the characters’ thoughts about abortion went beyond the pro-life or pro-choice debate. There needs to be more of that, if you ask me.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars. This book alternated between depressing and exhausting and blah. The premise is a good one, but the author didn't make many of her characters likable, there were too many characters to ever bring yourself to care that much about any of them in such a short novel, and overall, I found reading it kind of a chore by the last fifty pages. The lack of dialogue and lengthy descriptions made the book dull. I only really finished it because it wasn't long and I kept thinking that it would get better- the last chapter was somewhat redemptive, but it still left me cold in terms of emotional investment and giving a shit.

[Briel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reminded me a little of the TV show "thirty something" which I always found to be a bit pathetic and dreadful. In this book all of the married women were unhappy with their husbands and all of the unmarrieds wanted husbands. All of those with children were struggling and all of those without were trying to be pregnant. Anyway, it was okay and I liked the ending.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

UGH!!!! Not only did I never connect with any of the characters but there was absolutely no point to this story! No definitive and to Jean & Charlotte's friendship, no idea what happened with the dynamics of the group as a result of Charlotte's choice....nothing. Definitely not a book I would recommend. Sorry :(

[Sara Stamey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kathryn Trueblood has a keen eye for the inner lives of her characters, and these women are each distinctive in their response to the decision of a pregnant member of their friendship circle. Alternating points of view bring us the different crises they face in their careers and families, all circling around relevant issues of fertility. Trueblood breaks through cliches and makes us think.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected this to be chick lit, but it wasn't at all. The characters have real problems without obvious solutions. Whether you're married or not, have kids or not, if you're a woman facing down your forties, I recommend this book.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the concept of women's relationships strained by a second trimester abortion. But the style lacked a lot of action and development for more. Much more instropectice than I like, and jumped from character to character before I could establish any interest in one.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just couldn't connect with the characters enough to track their interactions as point of view changed with every chapter. Well-written as one offs, just didn't hold my attention as a novel. Stopped 1/3 in.

[Shy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very depressing read that didn't have much of a conclusion. Felt like a peek into the lives of a group of women going through similar issues but from different perspectives. Not my cup of tea.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly good book - kind of takes on the fertility debates. Easy read.

[Robin Jensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

PRetty fluffy, but still fun for vacation reading.