More Than It Hurts You

The acclaimed author of Chang and Eng

returns with a literary showstopper --

a beautifully realized novel that at its heart is the story of a woman

who will

risk everything to feel something; a doctor whose diagnosis brings

her entire

life into question; and a man who suddenly realizes that being a good

husband

and a good father can no longer comfortably coexist.

Josh Goldin was savoring a Friday afternoon break

in the coffee room, harmlessly flirting with coworkers

while anticipating the weekend at home where his

wife, Dori, waited with their eight-month-old son, Zack.

And then Josh's secretary rushed in, using words like

intensive care, lost consciousness, blood. . . .

That morning, Dori had walked into the emergency

room with her son in severe distress. Enter Dr. Darlene

Stokes: an African-American physician and single

mother whose life is dedicated both to her own son and

navigating the tricky maze of modern-day medicine.

But something about Dori stirred the doctor's suspicions.

Darlene had heard of the sensational diagnosis

of Munchausen by Proxy, where a mother intentionally

harms her baby, but had never come upon a case of it

before. It was rarely diagnosed and extraordinarily controversial.

Could it possibly have happened here?

As their four lives intersect with dramatic consequences,

Darlene, Dori, and Josh are pushed to their breaking

points as they confront the nightmare that has become

their new reality. Darin Strauss's extraordinary novel is

set in a world turned upside down-where doctors try

to save babies from their parents, police use the law to

tear families apart, and the people you know the best

end up surprising you the most.

About the Author

DARIN STRAUSS is the author of the

international bestseller Chang and Eng

and the New York Times Notable Book

The Real McCoy. Also a screenwriter,

he is currently adapting Chang and

Eng with Gary Oldman. The recipient

of a 2006 Guggenheim Fellowship in

fiction writing, he teaches writing at New York

University.