Cally was an enchanted fertility goddess, and Hal was the hero who could make it all happen.” But when the three meet to sign the contract, Ruth feels like an onlooker, “a hapless client. He rationalizes that more money will go to Cally instead of to overhead. Instead of using an agency or family law attorney, Hal prepares the surrogate agreement, even though he’s a real estate attorney and has minimal legal knowledge of surrogacy. Cally seems like she will be the perfect surrogate. Ruth appreciates the fact that the girl wants a career. And doing something so monumental for someone else makes her feel important.

Ruth must face the fact that she is of “geriatric maternal age.” Her doctor told her she had only a slim chance of the IVF working, and Ruth fears adoption “because you’re never sure what you’re getting, genetically.” The only option left is surrogacy.īecause Ruth’s doctor doesn’t believe her eggs are viable, they have to use the surrogate’s egg, with Hal’s sperm injected.Ĭally Scott had responded to the Olson’s Craigslist ad for “an ambitious, brave young woman who was willing to donate her egg, as well as carry the child for us.” She is 20 years old and needs money for college. When she didn’t conceive, she tried alternative therapies, but none worked. Her 48-year-old husband of four years, Hal, wants to give her a child even though he already has two teenage boys from his first marriage. In her debut novel, THE SURROGATE (Harper Books, ) author Toni Halleen tackles the emotionally charged issue of surrogacy. When Ruth and Hal discover that Cally and their daughter are gone, a whole series of doubts and secrets is revealed, and the difference between right and wrong is no longer clear.Cover of Book – Part of a house with a pregnant woman in the window. The arrangement seems perfect for everyone.īut within a day of the baby’s birth, Cally has a change of heart-and engineers a harrowing escape from the hospital with the newborn. Their hope rests with Cally, a nineteen-year- old who wants to go to college-but doesn’t have the cash. Ruth is a no-nonsense fortysomething journalist from the Midwest, desperate for a child with her new husband, Hal. I loved it!”-Patry Francis, bestselling author of All the Children Are Home With a collection of vividly rendered characters, this twisty tale will leave you thinking about the true meaning of motherhood long after you turn the last page.

“ The Surrogate is a thrilling, high-stakes debut centering on a vulnerable newborn and two women who will do almost anything to claim her as their daughter.

The surrogate by toni halleen