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Trailer Baby
Psychologist Cary Taylor can't get her own family to take her advice. She and husband Ben have drifted apart, and their fifteen-year-old daughter is seriously acting out, for some reason.
Then Cary learns why. Cessna her daughter, is pregnant, and the father is the eighteen year old son of a client. Cary never imagined continuing a relationship with any client beyond the fifty-minute hour, much less with someone so different from her. She is a single mom, living in a trailer park.
Told from the perspectives of both Cary and the client, Trailer Baby gives us a refreshingly honest, yet uplifting story of hope, of healing, and how the heart can open up to love.
Then Cary learns why. Cessna her daughter, is pregnant, and the father is the eighteen year old son of a client. Cary never imagined continuing a relationship with any client beyond the fifty-minute hour, much less with someone so different from her. She is a single mom, living in a trailer park.
Told from the perspectives of both Cary and the client, Trailer Baby gives us a refreshingly honest, yet uplifting story of hope, of healing, and how the heart can open up to love.
359 pages, ebook
Published November 3, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 16, 2020
This book takes us along parallel paths of 2 women who seem totally different and totally the same as they navigate parenting, stress, coping mechanisms, relationships and dealing with the pending pregnancy of their teenagers. A great piece of contemporary fiction that will make you consider how income disparity influences our prejudices and how women need to start supporting our sameness in the challenges we face.
November 24, 2020
I appreciate the peek "behind the curtain" of a psychologist's life. Aren't we all in varying degrees of holding it together/falling apart all the time? The short chapters told from different viewpoints encourage the reader to do what the main character struggles to learn how to do: to see everybody as a multi-dimensional person with dignity.
September 11, 2020
3.5 stars
I thought this was a good book, but I enjoyed it more because of Cary and Lily’s relationship. While Cary never imagined she’d have to deal with one of her clients outside of work, she is forced to when her daughter reveals that she is pregnant and the father is her client’s son.
I personally didn’t like Cessna or Jeremy. Cessna was convinced that her and Jeremy would raise the baby and live happily ever after. Considering she was only fifteen, this wasn’t surprising, but definitely naive on her part. Jeremy on the other hand, had other priorities, like taking care of his mother and siblings, and while enlisting seemed like a mature decision, I thought it was extremely immature of him to constantly brush off Cessna whenever she tried to talk about the baby. Then he dropped the idea of adoption on her as if he had it all planned out (since he already found a couple to adopt the baby) and never took into consideration what she wanted.
While I believe the decision they came to was the right decision for everyone all around, I felt as though Cessna was somewhat pressured into it. Even though she was a teenager and most likely didn’t know what she really wanted yet, everyone else in her life appeared to go along with the idea before she did. I wasn’t convinced she came to the decision on her own because at that point everyone was presenting her with they wanted.
One aspect of this story I did enjoy was seeing Cary and Lily grow closer. They developed an unexpected friendship, and I admired their support for one another while their children were going through such a life changing experience that affected both of their families.
Overall, the book was good and it was well written, but I think I would have enjoyed the story more if I liked Cessna and Jeremy’s characters better.
*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
I thought this was a good book, but I enjoyed it more because of Cary and Lily’s relationship. While Cary never imagined she’d have to deal with one of her clients outside of work, she is forced to when her daughter reveals that she is pregnant and the father is her client’s son.
I personally didn’t like Cessna or Jeremy. Cessna was convinced that her and Jeremy would raise the baby and live happily ever after. Considering she was only fifteen, this wasn’t surprising, but definitely naive on her part. Jeremy on the other hand, had other priorities, like taking care of his mother and siblings, and while enlisting seemed like a mature decision, I thought it was extremely immature of him to constantly brush off Cessna whenever she tried to talk about the baby. Then he dropped the idea of adoption on her as if he had it all planned out (since he already found a couple to adopt the baby) and never took into consideration what she wanted.
While I believe the decision they came to was the right decision for everyone all around, I felt as though Cessna was somewhat pressured into it. Even though she was a teenager and most likely didn’t know what she really wanted yet, everyone else in her life appeared to go along with the idea before she did. I wasn’t convinced she came to the decision on her own because at that point everyone was presenting her with they wanted.
One aspect of this story I did enjoy was seeing Cary and Lily grow closer. They developed an unexpected friendship, and I admired their support for one another while their children were going through such a life changing experience that affected both of their families.
Overall, the book was good and it was well written, but I think I would have enjoyed the story more if I liked Cessna and Jeremy’s characters better.
*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2022
With close relatives on both sides of the great political/social divide in the U.S.A., visiting them can feel less than entirely comfortable. This last year, flying home to Canada with hours of added wait time in airports, I finished Kathryn Sanoden Pearsons’ Trailer Baby. It is easy to read, but not ‘comfortable’. The message could be summed up in the words of one of the characters: ‘Each of us are given opportunities to stretch our hearts wide open. This could be yours.’
Most of us are not looking for ‘opportunities to stretch our hearts wide open’; we generally try to avoid them. Pearson uses the perspective of characters from two generations and differing socio-economic status to illustrate what this might look like: a psychologist and her 15 year old pregnant daughter, an unemployed, poor mother of three, and her son, the unwilling father heading off to join the army. An unexpected by-product is the healing of what had been a growing rift between the psychologist and her seemingly sports-besotted husband.
Trailer Baby reminds us that we are tied for GOOD to people we may not have chosen to be, and that it is not a life sentence, but a call to reconciliation and hope. For our time and place in history, this book is both a challenge and inspiration.
Most of us are not looking for ‘opportunities to stretch our hearts wide open’; we generally try to avoid them. Pearson uses the perspective of characters from two generations and differing socio-economic status to illustrate what this might look like: a psychologist and her 15 year old pregnant daughter, an unemployed, poor mother of three, and her son, the unwilling father heading off to join the army. An unexpected by-product is the healing of what had been a growing rift between the psychologist and her seemingly sports-besotted husband.
Trailer Baby reminds us that we are tied for GOOD to people we may not have chosen to be, and that it is not a life sentence, but a call to reconciliation and hope. For our time and place in history, this book is both a challenge and inspiration.
October 3, 2020
Well, this is sadly not going to be a rave review. This book was honestly a slog to get through. It wasn’t bad exactly, but it wasn’t really anything. Everything felt incredibly shallow: the plot, characters, storyline, even the ending. The side characters were fleshed out as much as the main characters, which is to say barely at all.
Cary seems like a terrible therapist and her husband Ben seems like a terrible person. Jay was probably the most forgettable character I’ve ever come across and I’m not even sure why he was written at all. Every character seemed like a caricature, down to Isobel and Angel.
The characters and story were not only shallow but incredibly predictable. And oh how perfectly it worked out with the baby, the exact answer they needed from the one new character introduced. And he happens to see Isobel as a therapist, in a huge city like Chicago. It’s so unbelievable and eye-rollingly predictable.
The writing wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great either. I feel like the author tried to be super descriptive in order to build the world a bit more but it just wound up being distracting and unnecessary. For instance, every part of Cary’s outfit is detailed when she goes to get Ben but when a bombshell is dropped all we get is, “She was shocked.” It just didn’t work for me.
Overall, this was almost a DNF for me but I was determined to make it through. Now that I have, I’m not sure why. I don’t think I’ll remember this book in a month, honestly. I’m sorry, but it’s an easy pass for me as far as recommendations.
I was provided a copy of this book in return for my honest review. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity.
Cary seems like a terrible therapist and her husband Ben seems like a terrible person. Jay was probably the most forgettable character I’ve ever come across and I’m not even sure why he was written at all. Every character seemed like a caricature, down to Isobel and Angel.
The characters and story were not only shallow but incredibly predictable. And oh how perfectly it worked out with the baby, the exact answer they needed from the one new character introduced. And he happens to see Isobel as a therapist, in a huge city like Chicago. It’s so unbelievable and eye-rollingly predictable.
The writing wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great either. I feel like the author tried to be super descriptive in order to build the world a bit more but it just wound up being distracting and unnecessary. For instance, every part of Cary’s outfit is detailed when she goes to get Ben but when a bombshell is dropped all we get is, “She was shocked.” It just didn’t work for me.
Overall, this was almost a DNF for me but I was determined to make it through. Now that I have, I’m not sure why. I don’t think I’ll remember this book in a month, honestly. I’m sorry, but it’s an easy pass for me as far as recommendations.
I was provided a copy of this book in return for my honest review. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2020
I found this book to interesting especially the way that the narrator was able to weave together the multiple points of view so coherently without having to use separate chapters for the different characters. I found that some of the characters got on my nerves a little bit especially Cessna. This is because she tried her hardest to cling on to Jeremy even though it was clear that he wanted nothing to do with the baby or her. She was very naive although that is understandable to a certain point since she is only fifteen.
Jeremy’s main focus was to take care of his mother and sisters. He did come across as being a bit selfish and he didn’t seem to care about Cessna or her feelings. I really liked watching the relationship between Cary and Lily grow. I enjoyed the contrasting between not only the two different families but also their social class.
I recieved an advanced copy for free, and this is my honest opinion.
Jeremy’s main focus was to take care of his mother and sisters. He did come across as being a bit selfish and he didn’t seem to care about Cessna or her feelings. I really liked watching the relationship between Cary and Lily grow. I enjoyed the contrasting between not only the two different families but also their social class.
I recieved an advanced copy for free, and this is my honest opinion.
February 12, 2021
Kathryn Pearson's book, "Trailer Baby" is a good read, but it also so much more. It is the portrait of two families, one is well-to-do, who at first glance seems to have everything. The other family is a single mom with three kids, who barely scrapes by. The two famlies intersect when their teens start to date, with a life-changing outcome. Ms. Pearson does an excellent job of contrasting the day-to-day survival of each family from how they eat to how they deal with law enforcement. This book will make you think about survival and finding hope. We were fortunate enough to have Ms. Pearson dial into our book club, where she shared insight of how and why she wrote the book. I highly recommend this compelling story.
November 28, 2021
I liked the book.
It is realistic, optomistic (by the end) and I could easily identify with the characters. Several points in the book (no spoilers) were page turners. It's a great book for book clubs, teen/parent discussions, and thinking through the choices we have in the world. I loved the exchanges between the two moms!!
It is realistic, optomistic (by the end) and I could easily identify with the characters. Several points in the book (no spoilers) were page turners. It's a great book for book clubs, teen/parent discussions, and thinking through the choices we have in the world. I loved the exchanges between the two moms!!
November 12, 2020
This is a book to fall in love with. On the surface, the story is a simple one. There’s a surprise teenage pregnancy but the families of the young couple are very different. These differences lead to conflict and misunderstanding but ultimately result in a satisfying, heart warming resolution.
Cary Taylor is a psychologist with a troubled home life. She and her husband Ben live separate lives. He is focused on sports and his son’s athletic prowess while she finds comfort in a nightly bottle of wine. Neither have a good relationship with Cessna, their fifteen year old daughter. Then she learns that her daughter is seeing Jeremy, the eighteen year old son of a new patient. She ends her sessions with his mother, Lily Ganser. It won’t be the last time she sees Lily. Cessna tells her she and Jeremy are expecting.
The Taylors are a wealthy but fractured family. They neither communicate nor spend time together. The tension is the home is palpable. Lily Ganser is a single mother, living in a decrepit trailer park. The love in that little trailer is so evident. Even though Jeremy struggles to help support his mother and sisters and Lily manages with SNAP cards, their caring shines through. In the Taylor’s house, no one shares dinner and all conversations are superficial until the bomb that is Cessna’s pregnancy explodes.
This emotional story is told in the voices of Lily, Cary, Jeremy and Cessna. It is brutally honest. The Taylor’s prejudices against the poor are exposed. Cary and Ben discover the hidden problems in their marriage. Lily regains her strength while Jeremy and Cessna find their future. This 5 star read will keep you thinking.
Thank you to NetGalley, BHC Press and Kathryn Sanoden Pearson for this ARC.
Cary Taylor is a psychologist with a troubled home life. She and her husband Ben live separate lives. He is focused on sports and his son’s athletic prowess while she finds comfort in a nightly bottle of wine. Neither have a good relationship with Cessna, their fifteen year old daughter. Then she learns that her daughter is seeing Jeremy, the eighteen year old son of a new patient. She ends her sessions with his mother, Lily Ganser. It won’t be the last time she sees Lily. Cessna tells her she and Jeremy are expecting.
The Taylors are a wealthy but fractured family. They neither communicate nor spend time together. The tension is the home is palpable. Lily Ganser is a single mother, living in a decrepit trailer park. The love in that little trailer is so evident. Even though Jeremy struggles to help support his mother and sisters and Lily manages with SNAP cards, their caring shines through. In the Taylor’s house, no one shares dinner and all conversations are superficial until the bomb that is Cessna’s pregnancy explodes.
This emotional story is told in the voices of Lily, Cary, Jeremy and Cessna. It is brutally honest. The Taylor’s prejudices against the poor are exposed. Cary and Ben discover the hidden problems in their marriage. Lily regains her strength while Jeremy and Cessna find their future. This 5 star read will keep you thinking.
Thank you to NetGalley, BHC Press and Kathryn Sanoden Pearson for this ARC.
October 8, 2020
Well, this is sadly not going to be a rave review. This book was honestly a slog to get through. It wasn’t bad exactly, but it wasn’t really anything. Everything felt incredibly shallow: the plot, characters, storyline, even the ending. The side characters were fleshed out as much as the main characters, which is to say barely at all.
Cary seems like a terrible therapist and her husband Ben seems like a terrible person. Jay was probably the most forgettable character I’ve ever come across and I’m not even sure why he was written at all. Every character seemed like a caricature, down to Isobel and Angel.
The characters and story were not only shallow but incredibly predictable. And oh how perfectly it worked out with the baby, the exact answer they needed from the one new character introduced. And he happens to see Isobel as a therapist, in a huge city like Chicago. It’s so unbelievable and eye-rollingly predictable.
The writing wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great either. I feel like the author tried to be super descriptive in order to build the world a bit more but it just wound up being distracting and unnecessary. For instance, every part of Cary’s outfit is detailed when she goes to get Ben but when a bombshell is dropped all we get is, “She was shocked.” It just didn’t work for me.
Overall, this was almost a DNF for me but I was determined to make it through. Now that I have, I’m not sure why. I don’t think I’ll remember this book in a month, honestly. I’m sorry, but it’s an easy pass for me as far as recommendations.
Cary seems like a terrible therapist and her husband Ben seems like a terrible person. Jay was probably the most forgettable character I’ve ever come across and I’m not even sure why he was written at all. Every character seemed like a caricature, down to Isobel and Angel.
The characters and story were not only shallow but incredibly predictable. And oh how perfectly it worked out with the baby, the exact answer they needed from the one new character introduced. And he happens to see Isobel as a therapist, in a huge city like Chicago. It’s so unbelievable and eye-rollingly predictable.
The writing wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great either. I feel like the author tried to be super descriptive in order to build the world a bit more but it just wound up being distracting and unnecessary. For instance, every part of Cary’s outfit is detailed when she goes to get Ben but when a bombshell is dropped all we get is, “She was shocked.” It just didn’t work for me.
Overall, this was almost a DNF for me but I was determined to make it through. Now that I have, I’m not sure why. I don’t think I’ll remember this book in a month, honestly. I’m sorry, but it’s an easy pass for me as far as recommendations.
November 2, 2020
The phrase teenage pregnancy brings to mind so many different things, most of them negative and most of them fed from social media and their portrayal of the consequences, both positive and negative. Kathryn Sanoden Pearson has written a wonderful story of two young people and their families as they face the 15yr old mother to be and her unrealistic dreams.
Psychologist Cary Taylor is better at dispensing family advice than practicing it. Her family has grown distant with each other, four people who share a home and not much else. When she discovers her 15yr old is pregnant, she thinks the news couldn't be worse...and then it is. Her personal life and professional life have just collided, the baby's father is the son of one of her patients.
Ms Pearson has given us an excellent book on family dynamics and how they constantly change, influencing the decisions we make and ignoring the consequences as we cope. Preconceived notions on class and age will cause some heart aching scenes before the families decide to come together to support their children and each other. It definitely gave me a few sniffles along the way. It would be a wonderful gift to know what happens next in the life of these characters.
Psychologist Cary Taylor is better at dispensing family advice than practicing it. Her family has grown distant with each other, four people who share a home and not much else. When she discovers her 15yr old is pregnant, she thinks the news couldn't be worse...and then it is. Her personal life and professional life have just collided, the baby's father is the son of one of her patients.
Ms Pearson has given us an excellent book on family dynamics and how they constantly change, influencing the decisions we make and ignoring the consequences as we cope. Preconceived notions on class and age will cause some heart aching scenes before the families decide to come together to support their children and each other. It definitely gave me a few sniffles along the way. It would be a wonderful gift to know what happens next in the life of these characters.
October 10, 2020
Trailer Baby is more than a book specifically about teen pregnancy, it is also about family dynamics and being on two different sides of the tracks. Cary and Lily are the narrators of the story. They meet as therapist and patient who become connected even more when their teenage children are revealed to be dating and are expecting a baby at age 15 and 18.
I found this book interesting. I was most interested in the relationship that builds between the two mothers, Cary and Lily, rather than in the young people trying to navigate their unplanned pregnancy. While reading I had an idea about how I thought it would play out and I was right on the mark. I was not disappointed in the ending, but I would have liked to have known a little more about how the young mother, Cessna, coped afterwards. I will recommend this book to those who enjoy women's fiction.
My sincere thanks to BHC Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read Trailer Baby and give my unbiased opinion of the book.
I found this book interesting. I was most interested in the relationship that builds between the two mothers, Cary and Lily, rather than in the young people trying to navigate their unplanned pregnancy. While reading I had an idea about how I thought it would play out and I was right on the mark. I was not disappointed in the ending, but I would have liked to have known a little more about how the young mother, Cessna, coped afterwards. I will recommend this book to those who enjoy women's fiction.
My sincere thanks to BHC Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read Trailer Baby and give my unbiased opinion of the book.
September 10, 2020
I absolutely fell in love with this book! I felt like i immediately knew and connected with the characters in a way i had never connected before, I felt the family falling apart as Cessna was hiding a huge secret from her mom and dad, but Cessna wasnt the only one with a problem Ben ignored everything that had to do with being at home He went to all of Jays games and bonded with his son in a way that hadnt happened with his daughter. The mom was a fully functioning alcoholic that could give great advice to her clients but couldnt seem to fix her own family or take her own advice.
In the end im glad Cessna made the decision she did and im hoping there will be a sequel so that we can see what happens with trailer baby! this was such an uplifting story of how families can come together and love each other as they should have been!
In the end im glad Cessna made the decision she did and im hoping there will be a sequel so that we can see what happens with trailer baby! this was such an uplifting story of how families can come together and love each other as they should have been!
September 7, 2020
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I had high hopes for this book. Although I did enjoy it, it seemed to drag on for me. The main character, Cary was way too self absorbed for me to like her. She and her husband were ridiculously judgemental and rude throughout the book.
The story was a little bit all over the place. I had a difficult time figuring out how much time had passed at times. The chapters could have been laid out better. There were aspects of the book (the black pickup) that didn’t fit the plot at all and I questioned why they were even in there.
I had high hopes for this book. Although I did enjoy it, it seemed to drag on for me. The main character, Cary was way too self absorbed for me to like her. She and her husband were ridiculously judgemental and rude throughout the book.
The story was a little bit all over the place. I had a difficult time figuring out how much time had passed at times. The chapters could have been laid out better. There were aspects of the book (the black pickup) that didn’t fit the plot at all and I questioned why they were even in there.
September 13, 2020
I enjoyed this book about a teenage pregnancy and how it drew a family together. The family had, over time, all gone off in their own direction. They were actually four people living in the same house, rather than a family. The book is interesting in that it tells the story of the teenage parents, as well as how this situation impacts everyone around them. The main character is a therapist, who helps other people, but initially cannot help herself or anyone else in her family. Luckily, her business partner is empathic soul who eventually helps her find her way. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in return for my honest review.
September 9, 2020
This was a novel of redemption especially for Cary, a main character. These folks were tough to like at times. The judgmental wealthy family was an example of privilege and was crumbling under the pressure of one problem. I thought Cary should be in therapy, not giving it. The family in the trailer park was leaning way too hard on the teenage son for income and running the household. This novel spotlighted the fact that money doesn't make a perfect family, all have their ups and downs.
This was an advance copy from NetGalley and my honest opinion. I appreciate the opportunity to read it.
This was an advance copy from NetGalley and my honest opinion. I appreciate the opportunity to read it.
September 12, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am very torn on what to rate this book and how best to review it. I wanted to like this book more than I ended up. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and really didn't like any of them. The overall premise of this book was promising but I felt it could've been written in a clearer way. I did like the ending and I could see this book having a sequel.
I am very torn on what to rate this book and how best to review it. I wanted to like this book more than I ended up. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and really didn't like any of them. The overall premise of this book was promising but I felt it could've been written in a clearer way. I did like the ending and I could see this book having a sequel.
September 5, 2020
This book hits you hard! But in a way that makes you think about class and preconceived notions. It was a bit slow to start but really got good in the third chapter.
December 3, 2020
Oh goodness....these characters were a mess! When i wanted to love one, they let me down. The story was a common story of today and I wanted more from the ending. I rate this book a 2.8
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews