Excerpt by author Jessica Winter about “The Fourth Child:” Book smart, devoutly catholic, and painfully unsure of herself, Jane becomes pregnant in high school; by her early twenties, she is raising three children in the suburbs of western New York State with her husband, Pat, whose constantly shifting moods are trip wires in their marriage. In the fall of 1991, as her children are growing older and more independent, Jane is overcome by a spiritual and intellectual restlessness that leads her to join a local antiabortion group, just as the pro-life organization Operation Rescue has begun building its own base in her community. Following the tenets of her beliefs, she feels called to adopt a little girl from Eastern Europe. But Mirela is a difficult child. Deprived of a loving caregiver in infancy, she remains unattached to her new parents, acting out in destructive and unpredictable ways, no matter how much love Jane shows her. As Jane becomes consumed with chasing therapies that might help Mirela, her relationships with her family, especially her older daughter, Lauren, begin to fray. Feeling estranged from her mother and unsettled in her new high school, Lauren is uncertain how much to reinvent herself. A chance audition for the school play puts her into the orbit of the charismatic drama club teacher, Mr. Smith. Soon after, she discovers the power of her burgeoning creativity and sexuality-a journey that both echoes and departs from her mother’s own adolescent experiences. But when Lauren is confronted with the limits of her independence, Jane is thrown into an emotional crisis, forced to reconcile her principles and faith with her determination to keep her daughters safe. Written with breathtakingly gorgeous, compassionate prose, “The Fourth Child” is a beautifully told story about the power of family but also a haunting portrayal of how love can shatter-or strengthen-our beliefs. Following her critically acclaimed debut, “Break in Case of Emergency,” Jessica Winter returns with a moving novel about motherhood and marriage, adolescence and bodily autonomy, family and love, religion and sexuality, and the delicate balance between the purity of faith and the messy reality of life. A note from the Seller: in addition to the themes listed above, Ms. Winter also touches on topics of domestic abuse, self harm, grooming/predatory behaviors, and attachment styles. Overall an excellent read that I could not put down, with characters I could connect to in surprising ways. Definitely a book for the intellectual who wishes to broaden their perspective!