Dawn Barker

This was a difficult book to read in an emotional context and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. The writing isn’t the problem, it’s just that it touches upon some really difficult subjects and as a mother I felt as if I kept putting myself in the shoes of each of these women wondering what I’d do in their shoes.

Living in the States where surrogacy is such a common practice, widely accepted across most of the country and there are very few issues I at first had some trouble understanding the foundation of the issues the characters faced. Barker does a good job of guiding her readers through this topic so you can understand the challenges faced, why and how even when you think the ink is dry on the contract and you can breathe that may not be the case.

I found myself hurting so much for Zoe at times but also being really irritated with her because she comes off very selfish and single minded in that she seems willing to destroy her marriage to have a child. Even after she finally gets that dream she continues to act in a manner only thinking of herself. Her husband begins spiraling out of control, he’s obviously having severe psychological issues but she doesn’t do anything or tell anyone what’s happening until it’s too late. It feels like she continues in that vein with her child and only finally gets help for her when her own job/life gets put into a bind. I had a lot of trouble liking this character.

Then you have Zoe’s sister Nadia who was the biological surrogate. The author set up there would be a conflict right away because it was made known that Nadia wanted more children and to stay at home so it seemed naïve to think she’d be able to hand over her biological daughter to her sister without issue. I know it seemed like Nadia was kind of being set up to be the ‘villain’ in this story but I ended up liking her more and would have ended the story differently just because of how much I preferred Nadia over Zoe.

This would be an excellent book to read in a book club to talk about the issues of motherhood, pregnancy, thoughts on surrogacy, etc. I’d be particularly curious to get a man’s point of view.… (mere)

FRACTURED is a thriller entry in the expanding local sub-genre of books that look very close to home. Set as close to home as possible, it's the story of Anna, her husband Tony and their baby son Jack.

Using the obvious device of two converging timelines, the lead up to Jack's birth is contrasted with events afterwards. The storyline builds carefully, slowly almost, seen primarily from the viewpoint of Tony.

Partially because of that viewpoint there's a sense of "blame" or judgement, pervading the story. Whilst Anna obviously struggles with the change in her life, Tony doesn't always come across as particularly empathetic or even necessarily aware of what a struggle it is. Having said that he's also struggling with why things haven't panned out according to the advertising, and his mother doesn't seem too sympathetic about his difficulties. At points throughout this story is possible for the reader to dislike just about everybody - Tony, Anna, Tony's mother. Everyone seems to have an opinion on what everyone else should be doing yet somehow nobody actually seems to ever do anything positive. Even after the worst happens and Anna and Jack go missing, the sense of disapproval and judgement remains strong.

Many of these sorts of books come across as too manipulative, too designed to engender a predictable reaction. Barker cleverly dodges a lot of that by making just about everybody in the story unsympathetic in some way. This feels like a very realistic portrayal of the loss of control - it's cleverly drawing out that idea that parenthood is not always idyllic and sometimes a little honesty wouldn't hurt.

A clever book, FRACTURED looks at a taboo subject, without slipping over into preaching or coming across as holier than thou.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-fractured-dawn-barker… (mere)

Zoe is devastated when she learns that the disease she has battled her entire life has robbed her of the chance to have a child of own, so when her step sister, Nadia - already a mother to three healthy, adorable children - offers to be a surrogate for Zoe and her husband Lachlan, Zoe is thrilled and determined to make it work. Three years later, Nadia places a newborn baby girl in her sister's grateful arms but is she really prepared for the reality of letting the child, her daughter, go?

Examining the ethical issues surrounding altruistic surrogacy, and the complications that can affect such arrangements, Let Her Go, by Dawn Barker, is an absorbing and thought provoking novel.

Barker's characters are believable, ordinary people with familiar flaws and insecurities. My sympathies were torn between Zoe, desperate in her desire for a child, and Nadia, whose generous intentions are corrupted by an instinct she can't control. The author portrays these two women, and their decisions and actions, with extraordinary sensitivity and compassion, acknowledging the complicated situation that extends beyond simple judgements.

"No one ever knows the effect on the future of the things we do now; we just have to do what we think is right at the time."

In including the narrative of seventeen year old Louisa, Barker adds another layer of perspective to the issue and exposes the hubris of judging what is in a child's best interest. The author asks, what happens when the child's best interest conflicts with our own ability to provide it?

Other issues touched on in Let Her Go included mental illness, disability and domestic violence. These elements help to both flesh out the characters, and the motivations for the choices they make during the story.

Part family drama, part psychological thriller, the pacing of Let Her Go is ideal, with shifting timelines drawing out the subtle, but ever present, suspense. I was never entirely sure how the story would unfold, constantly anticipating the unknown.

A compelling, poignant novel about motherhood, family, loss and love, Let Her Go is a story that is hard to let go of.… (mere)

Fractured is a devastating portrayal of a young family shattered by tragedy from debut author, Dawn Barker. When Anna is found bruised, battered and uncommunicative on a seaside cliff, her husband, Tony, imagines she has been attacked, perhaps car jacked. While he is relieved she has been found safe, their newborn son, Jack, is still missing and Anna can't, or won't, tell them where he is.

Structured along two alternating timelines that eventually meet, Fractured begins with the day that Anna and Jack disappear and then takes the reader back to the day that their much wanted and loved son was born. As the story unfolds, primarily through the viewpoint of Tony, we are witness to Anna's experience of new motherhood and Tony's struggle to make sense of the disintegration of his family.

With sensitivity and compassion, Barker explores this confronting situation and it's heart rending results. The tension comes at first from the unknown fate of baby Jack but is maintained as Anna and Tony have to come to terms with events, and are faced with the unimaginable emotional and legal repercussions of tragedy.

As the characters vacillate between blame, empathy, loathing and pity so does the reader, forced to confront the boundaries of our understanding about postpartum mental illness. It is an intense study of human frailty, drama and tragedy of which many have little understanding.

A superb debut for Dawn Barker, Fractured is a psychologically complex, gripping story that I couldn't put down. This adult fiction title is one that will haunt me for a while.… (mere)