Overview

Five women, friends at college, find their interlocking relationships strained when one of them, in her late thirties decides to have a second trimester abortion after delaying the decision in hopes that her husband will change his mind. The novel records the voices of her four friends as they struggle to bridge the gap between what they think they should feel and what they discover they do feel.

Characters

The friends are Nan, an obstetric nurse; Anastasia, a businesswoman; Jean, a former social worker; and Virginia, a community college professor.

The Themes

These women have all wrestled with and are still engaged by the questions of careers vs motherhood, marriage vs divorce, and pregnancy vs abortion. These are the issues that lie at the heart of this novel and make it so relevant for so many women.

Contrasts and Outcomes

In The Baby Lottery, women''s lives contrast painfully and inevitably: one woman has repeated miscarriages; another has an abortion; one woman chooses to remain single; another stays married for security. Ultimately, like Nan, the reader may see why some friendships deteriorate and others prevail.