The Surrogate

by Toni Halleen, Lisa Flanagan (Read by), Stacey Glemboski (Read by), George Newbern (Read by), Laurie Catherine Winkel (Read by)

Overview

A probing novel about a newly married couple, the surrogate they hire to carry their baby, and the unexpected consequences of their decisions.

Ruth is a no-nonsense fortysomething journalist from the Midwest desperate for a child with her new husband, Hal. A divorced attorney and the father of two teenage boys, Hal is open to having another child. But more than anything he wants Ruth to be happy—to become the mother she’s always wanted to be. Their hope rests with Cally, a nineteen-year-old who wants to go to college—but doesn’t have the cash. The arrangement seems perfect for everyone.

All through the pregnancy, Ruth and Hal look forward to the new baby that will make their family complete. But 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. When Ruth and Hal discover that she and their daughter are gone, a whole series of doubts and secrets are revealed, and it’s no longer clear what’s “right” and what’s “wrong.”

Set in the vast, sparsely populated upper reaches of northern Minnesota in the middle of winter, The Surrogate follows Ruth, Hal, Cally, and her boyfriend through the ice and snow, from the city to the dark, frozen north country as they run away from, and ultimately towards, one other.

In The Surrogate, Toni Halleen raises thought-provoking questions about the nature of family, love, and relationships. What would you do for your partner, when the going gets tough? How much is a pregnancy “worth?” And who, if anyone, “deserves” to be a mother?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798200745685
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	11/02/2021
Product dimensions:	5.35(w) x 6.69(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Toni Halleen worked for many years as an employment law attorney. She was born and raised in the Midwest, earned a B.A. in Women's Studies from Mount Holyoke College, and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota. Toni won a Mentor Prize in fiction from the Loft Literary Center, and her writing has appeared in Wigleaf, Structo, Gravel, the StarTribune, and elsewhere. She lives in Minneapolis with her family.

Lisa Flanagan is an award-winning audiobook narrator, voice actor, director, improviser, and classical soprano based in New York City. Her voice-over work includes animation, video games, and commercials. Lisa has received multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards and Voice Arts Awards, including Best Audiobook Narration, Children's for Disney-Pixar's WALL-E.

Stacey Glemboski is a talented audiobook narrator, tennis player, and copywriter. Previously an English teacher, she currently works out of her home studio.

George Newbern's film credits include Father of the Bride 1 and 2, Adventures in Babysitting, and Dadnapped. He has guest starred on many television series, including Scandal, The Mentalist, Private Practice, CSI: Miami, and Numb3rs.

Laurie Catherine Winkel is a voice talent and audiobook narrator.

Andrew Eiden, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is an actor and voice artist. He has been acting since the age of four, working at regional theaters including La Mirada Theatre, the Glendale Center Theatre, and the Pasadena Playhouse. He has starred in dozens of national commercials, guest-spotted on numerous television shows, and has been a series regular on three programs: Discovery Channel’s Outward Bound, Disney Channel’s Movie Surfers, and most notably ABC’s Complete Savages