The Push

by Ashley Audrain

We vibrate to the rhythms of our mother’s blood before she herself is born. . . .

Mothers aren’t supposed to have children who suffer. We aren’t supposed to have children who die. And we are not supposed to make bad people.

Motherhood is like that—there is only the now. The despair of now, the relief of now.

“You’re probably making something out of nothing. Again.”

Ok this guy is the worst

When she finally found the courage to tell Seb she wanted an abortion, he told her never to mention it again. He said she could move back home for good and ask her stepfather for the money, if the idea of having a baby with him was that terrible.

She felt trapped and she felt foolish. And so she gave in.

“You know, there’s a lot about ourselves that we can’t change—it’s just the way we’re born. But some parts of us are shaped by what we see. And how we’re treated by other people. How we’re made to feel.”

In laser-sharp, powerful prose, The Push is an utterly unputdownable novel that explores what parents owe their children, whether we are formed by nature or by nurture, and whether we can ever really outrun the scars of the past.

We’re still living in a time when women’s voices are often devalued, ignored, or questioned without merit. We’ve seen this in the way society treats women who speak out publicly, as an example.

The idea of the “crazy woman” or the “hysterical mother” has existed for a long time, and it creates fear and silences women, particularly where there is a power imbalance.

I also hope for The Push to create conversation among readers. About the expectations of motherhood, about what we owe our children, and about what happens when we don’t believe women’s truths.