Release Date: May 16, 2017

Lilli De Jong is living in Philadelphia with a conservative community of Quakers in 1883. She is in love with Johan who is leaving to look for work in Pittsburgh and once established will send for her. They both would like to marry.  A mishap occurs and Lilli finds out that she is pregnant after Johan leaves town. She is in a difficult situation because she has not heard from Johan during her pregnancy.  

The options are bleak for an unwed mother should she decide to keep her baby.  She is left with three options surrounding the birth of her child.  Put the baby up for adoption and go back to her former life. Keep her baby and live a life filled with hardships and negative social stigma.  Search for her fiance and pursue marriage while finding a means to support herself and her child. Lilli decides to leave home to have her baby at a haven for unwed mothers. She will delay her decision until the baby is born.  

This novel is a wonderful story about love and the intense bond that a mother instantaneously feels for her child. This book made me appreciate how society has changed for women and how much easier our lives are today. This is a beautiful debut novel by Janet Benton and one of my favorite reads of the year.