Fledging

<p class=ql-align-justify><em style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>It starts as bloating a hard curvature in my gut that won't go away. I wonder if it's my period but it isn't the right time. The cramps come slowly at first like a rising tide and then grow shorter and sharper a racing heartbeat.</em></p><p class=ql-align-justify></p><p class=ql-align-justify><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>When Lia lays an egg she doesn't know what to do. At her age it's impossible to escape the baby question and all her friends seem to be having children. She feels her heart's not in it - but all the same there's the egg impossible to ignore lying in a nest of towels in the living room.</span></p><p class=ql-align-justify></p><p class=ql-align-justify><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Her partner on tour on the other side of the world and her mother diagnosed with a terminal illness Lia finds herself torn unsure whether she's ready to give up on her songwriting dreams; but time is running out and she must make one of the biggest decisions of her life.</span></p><p class=ql-align-justify></p><p class=ql-align-justify><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Beautifully written and brilliantly original </span><em style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Fledging</em><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)> is a riveting tale that asks what it is to lead a meaningful life and sounds a resounding call for women to make their own choices whether that means embracing motherhood or living child-free.</span></p><p class=ql-align-justify></p><p><strong style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Praise for <em>Fledging</em>:</strong></p><p><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>'Wildly unsettling... I really enjoyed this razor-sharp look at womanhood and potential motherhood.'</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Laura Pearson author of </span><em style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>The Last List of Mabel Beaumont</em></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>'A wonderful new voice to fall in love with.'</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Farrah Storr</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>'An original braiding of fantasy whimsy tortured dark nights of the soul and slapstick...'</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Merle Bombardieri author of </span><em style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>The Baby Decision</em></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>'Perfectly captures the conflicting feelings that accompany the decision about whether to have a child while offering a poignant look at what is ending - and potentially beginning - for those who choose not to reproduce.'</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Ruby Warrington author of </span><em style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Women Without Kids</em></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>'Rose Diell gifts us with a wildly original story a curious reproductive mystery and a main character whose delightful and relatable voice hooked me from page one.'</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Therese Shechter director of </span><em style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>My So-Called Selfish Life</em></p><p></p><p><em style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>'Fledging</em><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)> is a book which feels like it hatches as you read it: smart surprising and wonderfully thought-provoking. Like a bizarre brilliant cross of </span><em style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Featherhood</em><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)> and </span><em style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Grief is the Thing with Feathers</em><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>.'</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Bobby Palmer author of  </span><em style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Isaac and the Egg</em></p>