Harvesting the Heart — Jodi Picoult

Paige has only a few vivid memories of her mother, who abandoned her when she was five. Now, having left her father behind in Chicago, she dreams of art school, marries an ambitious doctor--and soon becomes a mother herself. Overwhelmed by the demands of having a family, Paige cannot forget her mother's absence and the shameful memories of her own past, which make her doubt both her ability to give and her sense of self-worth. Out of Paige's struggle to find wholeness, Jodi Picoult crafts with astonishing clarity and evocative detail an absorbing novel that explores issues and emotions we can all relate to.