The End of Miracles

The End of Miracles

International Book Awards 2016 finalist for literary fiction
IPPY 2017 Gold Medal Winner in Autobiography/Memoir

“Monica Starkman offers a penetrating look at the drastic capabilities of the obsessed mind. Written beautifully and carefully, at just the right pace, The End of Miracles is a thoroughly compelling piece of work.”
—Roger Rosenblatt, New York Times bestselling author, literary editor of The New Republic, essayist for Washington Post and Time magazine

When a pregnancy following years of infertility ends in premature labor, Margo Kerber’s grieving becomes intertwined with feelings of inadequacy and shame. An imaginary pregnancy shields her from despair until ultrasound images confront her with the truth—at which point Margo sinks into a depression requiring psychiatric hospitalization. There, her harrowing experiences magnify her sense of being abnormal. When an opportunity arises, she flees. But following her escape, a chance encounter with a mother and her briefly unattended baby evokes another fantasy: she can better nurture this infant than can its mother. This new self-deception propels Margo into a gripping, heartbreaking series of increasingly daring and dangerous actions—with profound consequences for herself and others.

Author: Monica Starkman 

Publication Date: May 3, 2016

AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE
IBOOKS
INDIEBOUND
AUDIBLE

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International Book Awards 2016 Finalist for Literary Fiction

“Monica Starkman offers a penetrating look at the drastic capabilities of the obsessed mind. Written beautifully and carefully, at just the right pace, The End of Miracles is a thoroughly compelling piece of work.”
—Roger Rosenblatt, New York Times bestselling author, literary editor of The New Republic, essayist for Washington Post and Time magazine

“The End of Miracles is a compelling, empathic novel about a woman whose desperate wish for a child vividly evokes the pain and longing associated with infertility and builds to a climax worthy of a thriller.”
—Letty Cottin Pogrebin, author of Single Jewish Male Seeking Soul Mate and founding editor of Ms Magazine

“Starkman, a prominent psychiatrist, beautifully captures one woman’s journey through depression in this superbly well-written and gripping first novel, which powerfully reveals the complexity and strength of the human mind.”
—Booklist

“For Margo Kerber, the novel’s stoic and sensitive protagonist, the path to motherhood has been troubled from the start. An unexpectedly joyful pregnancy (is) followed by a miscarriage. Afterward, when Margo’s body produces false pregnancy symptoms and cruelly tricks her again, it is clear that she’s been driven to a breaking point. Margo’s collapse, unraveling, and gradual recovery bring a conclusion of forgiveness and hope. Best of all is Starkman’s portrait of Margo―a flawed yet admirably strong victim of circumstance and biology who refuses to be a victim anymore.”
—Foreword Reviews

“Interesting, realistic, exciting, moving. I strongly recommend it.”
—Harriette Simpson Arnow, author of The Dollmaker, and finalist for Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award

“A powerful and emotionally gripping novel by one of the great psychosomatic medicine psychiatrists of our time. Highly recommended for all those fascinated by psychiatric illness, treatment, and the impact relationships can have on healing.”
—Michelle Riba, M.D., M.S., Past President of American Psychiatric Association

“Monica Starkman’s The End of Miracles is as cinematic as it is suspenseful.”
—Rochel Urist, award-winning playwright

About the Author

Dr. Monica Starkman is a psychiatrist who is a faculty member of the University of Michigan Medical School Department of Psychiatry in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is a clinician and a scientific researcher. Many of her publications in the scientific literature highlight concerns and conditions of women. She has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is a recognized expert on the effects of stress hormones on mood and on brain structure. Dr. Starkman has also published in The New Republic and Voguemagazine.

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