The Laws of Gravity/Liz Rosenberg: announcing a new book by a good friend

Liz Rosenberg has been on a truly remarkable roll—publishing award-winning children's books, book-club-worthy adult novels, a weekly letter to the president (in the Boston Globe), and thoughtful reviews—all while writing two novels for young adults, midnight poetry, and a brand new adult novel—The Laws of Gravity—which I was given the privilege of reading early, a few months ago.

Gravity is book about life and blood—about two best-friend cousins whose love is tested when one of them, Nicole, is diagnosed with a form of cancer that only cord blood from a placenta can possibly cure. The other cousin, Ari, has access to just what Nicole needs (thanks to his decision to freeze the umbilical cords of his children). On the surface, then, it seems obvious: Won't Ari make this sacrifice on behalf of a gravely ill cousin who has always been like a sister to him, a best friend? Wouldn't you? But Ari, weighing his options, begins to wonder whether the future health of his own children (for whom the cords have been frozen) is more important than the pressing present health of his cousin.

What does one sacrifice, and for whom? What does love require of us? These are among the questions that Liz works through so compellingly in Gravity—a book that Ann Hood called "a real page turner" and Chris Bohjalian called "an unflinching portrayal of that place where fear and family collide."

Here, below, are my own words, rendered with great respect for my friend, Liz. Gravity will be released on May 7, just ahead of Mother's Day. I encourage you to find a copy for yourself, and a friend.

"Clear-eyed and compassionate, The Laws of Gravity wrangles with the complexity of choice…What do we owe one another? How can we forgive? How do we live with ourselves? Liz Rosenberg's details are riveting; they pierce. Her ideas about friendship triumph."