Accident of Birth — Heather Neff

A woman must decide between two lovers and two worlds -- Africa and America -- in a riveting, courageous journey
 
“A modern romance with global scope . . . Not since Marita Golden's Migrations of the Heart has a writer so deftly played the heartstrings that swing between Africa and African Americans.” -- Veronica Chambers
 
Reba Freeman's current husband, Carl, has given her all the wealth a suburban wife could hope for. But Reba's life is turned inside out once she learns that her first husband, Joseph Thomas, is being held by the World Court for crimes against humanity.
 
Joseph, a gifted Liberian student, had dreams of returning to his native land with his wife and educating his people, yet because of mysterious circumstances, Reba didn't accompany him to Liberia. Now, twenty years later, she must decide if helping her first husband is worth the risk of losing her comfortable world.
 
Alternating between present-day action and flashbacks, Accident of Birth creates an intricate tapestry of suspense, drama, and romance. Neff boldly exposes the rift between American comforts and the traumas of the world we choose to ignore, creating a moving novel that readers will talk about for a long time.