Praise for the #1 bestseller
Looking for Jane
“Heather Marshall speaks to the power of solidarity and of brave women who dare to take a stand.”
ELLEN KEITH, bestselling author of The Dutch Orphan
“Shines a spotlight on the unsettling truths and heartbreaking realities faced by women of every generation. A compelling, courageous must-read about motherhood and choice.”
GENEVIEVE GRAHAM, USA Today and #1 bestselling author of The Forgotten Home Child and The Secret Keeper
“A searing, important, beautifully written novel about the choices we make and where they lead us.”
KRISTIN HARMEL, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Daughter
“Marshall vividly brings to life the dangers involved with operating Jane… a page-turner.”
Publishers Weekly
“Heather Marshall’s sensitive fictional take on these real-life events illuminates the power of women and of motherhood.”
Canadian Living
“A confident debut that offers a fascinating, often disturbing insight into the state of Canadian women’s reproductive rights in our recent history…. Timely.”
The Globe and Mail
“Masterful… A poignant celebration of motherhood, and a devastating reminder of the consequences of denying women the right to choose. Fierce, beautifully written, and unforgettable.”
FIONA DAVIS, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Palace
“A beautifully written meditation on the lengths mothers will go to for their children as well as an eye-opening history of women.”
JANET SKESLIEN CHARLES, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library and Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade
“This timely novel about motherhood and choices is a must for all fiction collections.”
Library Journal (starred review)
“A brave, generous, capable exploration of what it means to be a mother, to be a woman, and to stand up for inexorable truths.”
MARISSA STAPLEY, New York Times bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club pick Lucky
“A powerful debut… an emotional but compelling story, inspired by real events.”
HELLO! Canada
“Gripping from the moment is starts… Looking for Jane has the potential to remain pertinent for generations.”
Associated Press
“A deftly braided narrative, Marshall keeps the tension high as she reveals the devastating consequences of denying women autonomy over their bodies. A charged topic handled with sensitivity and compassion.”
Kirkus Reviews
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For my family
My dream enablers, my cheer squad, my joy.
Prologue
VLAGTWEDDE, NETHERLANDS | APRIL 1945
The soldiers are sitting outside playing cards when they notice the woman staggering down the street.
The small Dutch border town they recently liberated from the Germans is quiet on this spring afternoon, and the soldiers have settled themselves in a circle using cargo boxes as makeshift chairs and tables in the absence of any real furniture. Canteens rest on the dusty ground at their feet whilst the sun shines on the tips of their ears and the backs of their necks, the same sun that warmed their skin back home.
These five soldiers are part of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, a proud contingent of the province’s best and bravest young lads. Or at least, what’s left of the contingent. They’ve lost many men along the way, the boys they grew up with, went to school with. Their mothers belong to the same quilting circles and church bazaar committees. Their fathers go fishing out on the flashing bays of the Atlantic where they smoke cigars and avoid discussions of the last war, burying the appalling realities that they didn’t dare reveal to their own sons. They watched, tight-throated and helpless as their boys shipped out in crisp new uniforms, drunk on the dangerous youthful delusion of invincibility that they themselves once felt.
