Book Review – Dear Thing

Claire and Ben are the perfect couple. They met, fell in love, got married, moved into a beautiful house in a good suburb, but one element was missing: a baby.

After years of trying to conceive, with IVF costing thousands, miscarriages and despair, Claire finally gives up on the notion that she would be able to create a loving home for her children. Ben suggests adoption, but Claire has already given up hope…

Romily was Ben’s best friend at university and although she had a crush on him, she never mustered the courage to tell him. Romily and Ben remained friends, her love hidden deep inside. When she fell pregnant and her boyfriend, Jarvis, said she should have an abortion, Ben convinced her not to and he and Claire became godparents to her daughter, Posie. One drunken night Ben confides in Romily that he still wants a baby. Romily offers to be a surrogate for the baby with her egg and Ben’s sperm.

This starts a roller-coaster ride of emotions between the three adults: feelings of guilt, inadequacy, betrayal, love, hope and ultimately joy through the nine months of Romily’s pregnancy. In the meantime, Posie’s father reappears and discovers Romily never had an abortion and he has a seven-year-old daughter.

An excellent read, with twists and turns, and characters and situations we can relate to.

Amanda Blankfield-Koseff
4/5