"This chilling novel (whose) two central voices are so seamlessly interwoven...moving and disturbing." (Publishers Weekly)

"Vividly detailed." (Kirkus Reviews)

What does unconditional love mean? Baby's Breath is a groundbreaking novel about a mother-daughter relationship shattered by a crime so horrific that even in our jaded culture few speak of it without an involuntary shudder. None of us thinks it could happen in our family. Leah Pacey, however, is not allowed the luxury of such denial. For her, the only notion more unthinkable than Alyssa's act is that of abandoning her daughter.

Leah's search for understanding is as halting as our own. She persists only because she must.

As we all must.

Baby's Breath is an unprecedented story of human suffering and human redemption. In this meticulously researched work, Hugo and Villegas patiently open our hearts to see beyond the surface of one girl, beyond the surface of sensational headlines, and give us the tools to think compassionately and creatively about how our society might provide help rather than condemnation.

Important literature is rarely easy and this novel is no exception. Baby's Breath is compelling, beautiful and rewarding as it affirms the triumph of love and the possibility of redemption.

Lynne Hugo and Anna Tuttle Villegas first collaborated on the novel Swimming Lessons which was published before they had their first face-to-face meeting. While they were writing it--collaborating by fax, phone and e-mail--the two mothers of college-age children became concerned about the increasing number of news accounts about hidden pregnancies and left-to-die newborns and the then-absence of attempts to understand the phenomenon of neonaticide. That concern led to Baby's Breath.

Hugo is also the author of two collections of poetry, has received fellowships in poetry and prose from the National Endowmen for the Arts, the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Ohio Arts Council. A resident of Ohio, she is a licensed psychotherapist and former clinical director of a residential treatment center for adolescents.

Villegas' debut novel, All We Know of Heaven, was published in 1997 and translated into 10 languages. Her essays, poems and short stories have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies (including our Old Dogs Remembered). A fifth-generation Californian, she lives in the Central Valley and has been a college and university English teacher for the past 25 years.

Sometimes art takes us where we have not imagined, where we do not go of our own accord, and becomes an instrument of social change. As these quotes from social workers and legislators show, Baby's Breath is doing that:

"Baby's Breath provides insight into how this heartbreaking tragedy might occur. Readers will gain a new perspective of the effect newborn abandonment has on the people directly involved, as well as on society as a whole." Lilly Riordan, president, Safe Place for Newborns, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

"Baby's Breath is more like a breath of reality. Alyssa's story of denial is all too familiar a scenario for young mothers desperate to hide an unwanted newborn." Jodi Brooks, founder, A Secret Safe Place for Newborns, Mobile, Alabama, and reporter for WPMI-TV. "Who will ever understand why a baby dies, simply for being born? We must open our hearts first and then our minds will follow. This book gives us the key to unlocking the heart of anyone who has been a child or a parent." Gigi Kelly, founder, Baskets for Babies, Inc., Southwestern Pennsylvania.

"I found that once I started reading it was hard to stop. It was as though I was viewing our babies' stories as they unfolded. It is painful but full of truths that need to be shared." Debi Faris, founder, Garden of Angels, Southern California.

"I believe this book will promote a greater awareness of the increasing problem of newborn abandonment and infanticide as well as increase public support for programs and legislation designed to help prevent it." Ohio State Representative Cheryl Winkler, 34th District.

"Baby's Breath confirms what I have known, that women who abandon their babies are troubled, scared and confused. That is why I authored legislation allowing them to leave their newborns at hospitals anonymously, without fear of prosecution for child abandonment. This gives their innocent newborns a second chance." California Assemblyman Ken Maddox, 68th District.

$24.95 Hardcover, 376 pages
ISBN 0-912184-13-2

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