A hidden past.
An uncertain future.
An impossible choice.
A Hidden Fate
by Carol Efron
Genre: Women’s Fiction
A poignant novel of
love under fire about a woman who must find the courage to face an uncertain
future—and an impossible choice.
Baltimore, 1986. Julia and Matt are newlyweds, in love and eager to begin
graduate school. Julia longs to leave behind haunting memories of her mother’s
devastating decline in Maryland, but she unexpectedly learns the truth her
father has hidden: Her mother died of a fatal genetic illness. Julia now faces
a 50 percent chance of inheriting the same fate, and every child she longs to
have will carry the same risk.
When an unplanned pregnancy rocks their careful plans, Julia and Matt face
agonizing uncertainty and impossible choices. Desires and convictions pull them
toward starkly different paths, each possibly leading to misery.
As the couple struggles to protect the fragile, fierce love that first bound
them together, they face the cost of secrets and the ache of betrayal—but they
also discover the hope of forgiveness.
What readers
are saying:
“…the richly drawn characters and the emotional depth of
Julia’s journey make for a deeply affecting novel whose moral questions linger
long after the story’s end.” —Kirkus
Reviews (starred review)
“This moving novel will appeal to fans of intimate,
issue-driven fiction about women’s choices, inherited trauma, and the hidden
costs of love. Great for fans of: Lisa
Genova’s Inside the O’Briens, Abraham Verghese’s The Covenant of
Water” —Publisher’s
Weekly Booklife Review
“Family secrets, the rights of parents, maternal love and
the importance of living one’s life to the fullest all come into play as Julia,
the protagonist in Carol Efron’s intriguing novel, faces an excruciating and
fateful decision.” —Jerry Burger PhD author
of Shadows of 1915: A Novel
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How could Carla, her
second mother, have done this to her? A body blow, this deception. She stared
at her father, hoping he felt her eyes boring into him. “It’s awful, the three
of you con-spiring to leave me in the dark. How could all of you have been so
treacherous? And stupid?”
Richard cracked his
knuckles, something he had told her many times not to do. “We talked long and
hard about it. You were better off growing up without the burden. I didn’t want
to wreck your chance to have a halfway normal childhood.”
Julia glared at him. “So
it was fine for all of you to lie to me?”
“Brutal enough for you to lose your mother
when you were only six” he said, sounding indignant. “Why saddle you with fears about a horrific future
that might never come to be?…Then later, darling—I couldn’t bring
myself to inflict so much pain on you.” He looked down at his lap. “If you
judge me weak, I don’t blame you.”
“It was cowardly of you,” Matt said, ground glass in his
voice.
The black birds on her father’s shirt were mesmerizing. Julia
fervently tried to make out the doves, but they wouldn’t come into view. How
could he wear such an ominous shirt tonight? Ravens symbolized loss and ill
omens. And the doves were ironic—symbols of peace when he was bringing torment.
Julia made herself breathe deeply, rhythmically.
As she started to feel slightly calmer, a question hit her
full force. Had her father known about the horror in her mother’s genes before he
married her? Would someone in his right mind make such a choice? She shut her
eyes against the thought barrage, to no avail. What would Matt have done if
he’d known about her dire genetic risks early in their courtship? Perhaps he
would have lost interest, and who could blame him? Had her father been
secretive in recent years to preserve her relationship with Matt?
A hateful thought but there it was, a banner headline in her
mind.
Opening her eyes, she saw her father staring at the photo of
the Andromeda Galaxy. The blazing white center of the galaxy drew her in. All
the energy in the room seemed concentrated there, and the spiral of stars
appeared to pulsate. Migraine material.
She wrenched her gaze away.
More pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
Carol earned her MD from Johns Hopkins, served on the
faculty at Stanford and John Hopkins, and built a thriving private practice in
Silicon Valley. Working on the front lines of genetic testing, she felt an
urgent need to write this book, and she would love to talk to you about how
these real-world experiences inspired her debut novel, along with the broader
implications of genetic testing.
