What a Mother Knows by Leslie Lehr-A Q&A and a Giveaway

I have a tremendous amount of respect for authors. If there were a job more difficult than teaching 30 children all wanting your attention in different ways (at the same time), it would be writing. Authors have a very tough gig! Everyone's a critic, and it is a tough world out there. Authors put their babies out in the world, and sometimes the world can be cruel! The world can also be filled with lots of love, and I believe when you find something good, you have a duty to hare that love. I always give my author friends a lot of love, because writing is truly a labor of love. Imagine my respect growing exponentially when I find out that the author I'm featuring here has encountered a hardship while writing and publishing her book. Oh, and by hardship I mean cancer! Leslie Lehr is the type of author you are rooting for (You Go Girl!). She is open, honest, and has a book out that you must read. 

I had a Q&A with Leslie to share with my readers. I loved her answers. She was so honest, and I appreciated her taking the time out to answer some questions. (Thanks, Leslie!)

Q: What is the one book you recommend to people when they ask you what you should read next?
A:This one is really hard. So many books, so little time, right? If you haven’t read Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern’s debut novel, then I strongly recommend reading that next. It came out two years ago, yet her fabulous story world and the love story that that tales place there is still vivid in my mind. She is a real artist, combining imagery and emotion and a mastery of words.

Q: Who are your favorite writers?
A:I’m an eclectic reader of fiction, so I enjoy reading books from mainstream to chick lit. On any given day, my favorite writers will include Leslie Schwartz, Cathi Hanauer, Ayelet Waldman, Margaret Atwood, Sophie Kinsella, Caroline Leavitt, Heather Gudenkauf….see what I mean? 

Q: What's one piece of advice you'd give to an aspiring writer?
A:Read!

Q: What is the hardest thing you've ever done? 
A: I’ve done a lot of hard things, like promoting this book while recovering from breast cancer, leaving an abusive marriage, taking care of a sick relative - but all those things simply had to be done. The hardest thing I’ve done is gone to sleep knowing that my daughter was unhappy, knowing that I couldn’t fix it. It feels unbearable, trying to tolerate your child’s emotional pain. The first time it happened, on a night years ago, is what inspired What A Mother Knows.

Q: In What A Mother Knows, you write about a mother's instinct. How much do you believe in intuition? 
A:I do believe in intuition, yet I think it’s an accumulation of details of behavior and a person’s history that makes us be able to ‘feel’ something is amiss. Sense memory – a person’s smell or some visual reminder heightens it as well. Unfortunately anxiety can often heighten that awareness into imagining the worst. When Michelle feels her daughter’s presence as she searches for her, she’s mixing her intimate knowledge of her daughter with her longing to see her and to hold her again.  The combination is what enables her to take this leap of faith by acting on her intuition. Wouldn’t we all do that for someone we love?

What A Mother Knows is the tale of  Michelle, the female MC who is on the heels of a coma, induced by a terrible accident. When she wakes up, she thinks her daughter is simply on a trip to Australia. There are even post cards sent to Michelle, which makes it seem as if her daughter will be waiting for her when she's released from the hospital. What Michelle does not realize is that there is so much more to the story than she could have ever imagined. There was a fatality. There are secrets. Michelle doesn't know who to trust. Is there something a mother knows? Is there that instinct that whines to be listened to when everyone else is telling you "it's fine?" I believe we do. Want more?

Here's the synopsis:

An unsettling, emotional and suspenseful novel of the unshakable bonds of motherhood, in which Michelle Mason not only loses her memory after a deadly car crash, but can't find her 16-year-old daughter, the one person who may know what happened that day. But the deeper Michelle digs, the more she questions the innocence of everyone, even herself. A dramatic portrayal of the fragile skin of memory, What a Mother Knows is about finding the truth that can set love free. 

(Publishers excerpt)

Still want more? I knew you would! I'm hosting a giveaway of 1 copy of What a Mother Knows, open to US & Canada only. Winner will be chosen Wednesday, June 5. Please leave a comment and your email address in order to be entered to win. Good luck! 

 This is a link to dear Leslie Lehr herself. :)

Happy reading!

*My review copy was received via NetGalley. I received no compensation (aside from the book being released to me) for my review.*