Marjorie Celona's debut is a heartbreaking and compassionate story of sacrifice and love, which introduces readers to unforgettable characters and a brilliant new literary voice.

Why would a mother give up her daughter?
Can abandonment ever be an act of love?
And could you ever forgive her?

'My life begins at the Y...' Abandoned as a newborn at the doors of the local YMCA and then bounced between foster homes, Shannon eventually finds stability in the home of Miranda, a single mother with a daughter of her own. But as Shannon grows, so do her questions. Will she ever belong? Who is her true family? And why would her parents abandon Shannon on the day she was born?

The answers lie in the heartrending tale of her mother, a headstrong young woman trapped in a tragic series of events that will destroy her family and test the limits of her compassion and sacrifice.