There he is, my baby boy. His eyes are closed, his tiny rosebud mouth is pursed in sleep. My eyes well up as I catch a whiff of his newborn skin and I swallow back a wave of emotion. I should feel happy, I should feel grateful, but all I can think about is everything I just lost…
It’s a miracle when Katherine’s baby boy is born healthy. But his twin sister doesn’t survive, and when Katherine is told she can’t have any more children the loss is almost too much for her to bear.
Katherine always saw herself having a big family: she remembers how the loneliness of being an only child used to overwhelm her, and she is desperate to adopt a sibling for her son.
But her husband Davis won’t agree. He worries that Katherine will struggle when the new baby arrives. What if growing their family only adds to the grief she feels over losing her little girl? What if this breaks their marriage apart?
And Katherine is forced to make a choice. Give up the second child she has always dreamed of or risk losing the family she already has?
An unforgettable and heart-wrenching page-turner about fighting for those we love. Readers of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain and Kate Hewitt will remember this story forever.
First, I want to thank Sam Vickery, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I can bring you this review.
Sam Vickery knows how to pull on my heart strings and make me tear up with her beautiful stories. She made me fall in love with her writing style in her previous book so when I heard about My Only Child I had to read it! I am so glad that I did!
The cover just melted my heart. It is just so beautiful and picturesque! That alone with the title just pulled on my heart strings and knew I was in for a heart felt read.
Sam dedicates her book to her son, Viggo. She says watching him grow into such a creative, curious, kind-hearted little boy has been one of her greatest pleasures in life. She loves you to the end of the universe and back.
Sam jumps right into the fast paced, heartbreaking, totally shocking, heart wrenching beginning to a story that will bring out many emotions inside of you.
This book brings up very sensitive topics such as loss of a child at birth, not being able to have any more children, alcoholism, how people handle grief, and international adoption.
Sam does an incredible job drawing out each emotion each character feels for each situation. She shows you how they feel not just tells you. You can’t help but feel total empathy for each character and what they are going through.
The book goes from present day to the past where we learn about how Hazel met Katherine’s Dad Frank. We learn about his tragedy in his life to make him the way he was. However, the very ironic part of it is we learn the parallel between what happened back then that is similar to present day in Katherine’s life.
There were so many times I wanted to reach into the book and give Katherine a hug! No woman should have to go through what she did. Her family wasn’t even consulted! That is what made me upset!
I myself am not a Mom but my sister almost lost my niece as she was born at 25 weeks early. She was in the NICU for 102 days. I couldn’t imagine what would have happened if we had lost her. Luckily she is a happy, healthy, and full of life 7 year old! Who is like her Auntie and loves to read!
Sam says something in the back of the book that really hit home to me. Her greatest lesson in life so far has been that it is the times when things veer off course and our carefully laid plans go out the window that we truly have an opportunity to learn and grow. It is these challenges that make us stronger, kinder and more generous with love and our energy, and in pushing forward even when it feels impossible, we get the greatest rewards. You have no idea how true this is for the personal situation my family is going through now. Thank you Sam for this reminder!
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