Leaving Haven: A Novel

In Leaving Haven, Kathleen McCleary, author of A Simple Thing, explores the intricacies of love, friendship, and parenthood.

Georgia longs for a baby, but she's had miscarriage after miscarriage since her daughter was born more than a decade ago. Through a miraculous egg donation, Georgia is thrilled to find herself pregnant—until she makes a startling discovery that changes her mind about how much she really wants the baby…

Georgia’s best friend, Alice, has a happy teenage daughter, a faithful husband, and a perfectly organized life. But her world spins off its axis when she falls for a man who is everything she knows she doesn’t want…

Leaving Haven is a provocative and touching novel that will appeal to readers of contemporary fiction and fans of Jodi Picoult, Luanne Rice, and Kristin Hannah.

Getting what you want is just the beginning. Now you have to discover what you truly need. . . .

Georgia Bing and Alice Kinnaird have always been there for each other. Eager to help her best friend have another baby after several miscarriages, Alice donates one of her eggs. When Georgia learns she's going to have the baby boy she's always wanted, she's thrilled—until a devastating discovery destroys her dreams.

While Alice is happy to help her friend get pregnant, she also feels a twinge of disappointment that her own life is missing something . . . something she desperately craves. On the surface, Alice has everything—a busy social life, a great job, a faithful husband, an amazing teenage daughter. But her well-ordered world is knocked off its axis when she's tempted by a forbidden passion that threatens the bonds of friendship, marriage, and motherhood that sustain her.

As the safety of their past is shattered, Georgia and Alice must embark on journeys of self-discovery—odysseys filled with surprising challenges that will test them and force them to confront the truth about their lives . . . and the choices they've made.

“Leaving Haven is a beautifully crafted portrayal of men and women who make shocking choices and appear doomed to remain in awful places. I raced to reach the resolution of this seemingly irresolvable story, caring very much about the fate of all the players.... This tangled web of deception in marriage and friendship will haunt readers.” - Randy Susan Meyers, author of The Comfort of Lies and The Murderer’s Daughters

“What would make a mother walk away from a hospital without the child she fought so hard to carry? This suspenseful family drama circles eloquently around truth, loyalty and commitment - a complex examination of temptation and choices, and of facing the repercussions of our actions.” - Nichole Bernier, author ofThe Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D.

“In Leaving Haven McCleary deftly explores themes of love, marriage, family and its rupture in moments that are so well told they feel like you are living them. I couldn’t put it down.” - Catherine McKenzie, international best selling author of Arranged and Forgotten Catherine McKenzie, international best selling author of Arranged and Forgotten Catherine McKenzie, international best selling author of Arranged and Forgotten