Land of Last Chances

A midlife pregnancy triggers an executive decision in this debut drama. Marketing professional Jeanne Bridgeton is a vice president at Salientific and has connections to its shot-callers. However, she doesn't yet have what she's always wanted: a chief officer title. She also finds herself having to make a choice that could have major consequences--not just for her, but also for other key characters in the story. She's pregnant, and she's debating whether she should get an abortion. At first, she ponders the question as dispassionately as she would a budget-line item--until her doctor tells her that, because she's 48, this could be her last opportunity to give birth. She never wanted to have a child before, but the finality of the decision causes her to vacillate almost daily until her state's 24-week legal abortion limit. She knows that the father is either Vince--a major investor in Salientific and her boyfriend of a year--or Jake, the company's troubled CEO, with whom she had a one-night stand. Her deepest concern, however, isn't paternity, as marriage is not in her DNA. Instead, she's anxious about the risk of the baby having developmental challenges, and whether gambling on motherhood would be irresponsible. Another wild card also consumes her: Did her father die from early-onset Alzheimer's disease? If so, would Jeanne's child be at risk of inheriting the disease--or of becoming an orphan at a young age? Cohen offers an adeptly written genetic detective story in this novel. In Jeanne, she creates a sympathetic and multidimensional character that avoids outdated stereotypes that one often sees in portrayals of women executives. Readers meet a tough corporate player in the early chapters, but the author develops many other facets of the character over the course of the book, as when she must confront the possibility that her mother, now deceased, lied to her about her father's condition. The central choice of the novel, which may polarize readers, effectively deals with extremely relevant issues. An artfully crafted portrayal of a woman who learns about herself as she weighs an unexpected choice.

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September 23, 2019
Cohen’s satisfying, fast-paced debut follows a 48-year-old businesswoman who learns she’s pregnant. Throughout her life, Jeanne Bridgeton had been convinced by her recently deceased mother that a woman must prioritize a successful career above bearing children. Jeanne followed that advice, moving up the corporate ladder at a technology business called Salientific until reaching the position of marketing v-p. She thought she had already entered menopause, but then she finds out she’s pregnant, and the father is either Vince, a key investor in Salientific, or Salientific’s CEO, Jake, with whom she had a post-party one-night stand. These professional indiscretions and questions of paternity complicate matters as Jeanne moves through the opening months of her pregnancy. Further complicating things is her discovery of her mother’s keepsake box, which reveals that her father had died from early-onset Alzheimer’s. Because both Jeanne and her baby may also carry the gene, she considers abortion. Jeanne endures a number of additional ordeals, including protecting Jake, who has PTSD, against a corporate mutiny, and caring for her lovable but dying dog, Bricklin, who’s her best friend and only family. Though overwhelming with its onslaught of tribulations, the novel sustains its momentum and holds readers’ attention with capable prose and emotional depth. This is a worthwhile debut about overcoming midlife obstacles.