Deep in the Heart — Sharon Oard Warner

In the rich tradition of John Irving's The Cider House Rules and Sue Miller's The Good Mother comes this provocative, emotionally charged debut novel -- an unforgettable story of love and conscience ... and the secrets kept deepest in the heart.

In a bustling Texas city, Hannah Solace and Penny Reed live in separate worlds. Thirty-nine-year-old Hannah works in a crowded public school and retreats to the false calm of her distant marriage. Penny, young and naïve, centers her life around a fledgling business and her church.

But both women are grappling with doubts -- about the men they love or don't, about their families and their pasts -- until a controversy erupts around them. For the first time in her life, Hannah is pregnant -- with a child only her husband wants to have.

At a local clinic on the edge of town, amid the chaos and the fury, both women will come face-to-face: This single stroke of fate will have profound reverberations, forcing each of them to reevaluate everything they have come to believe about love, motherhood, and family.