Before I Knew You - Charlene Carr

Joanna was brought up to believe life is meant to follow a certain path. You meet a wonderful man, get married, have children—all in that order. Maybe, if you’re really ambitious, you have a career too. But a career isn’t what Joanna wants. She wants a family.

In the early 1970s, at nineteen-years-old, Joanna was the first of her friends to complete steps one and two of the plan. She thought she’d be the first to complete step three as well. Now, thirteen years later, she’s still holding onto her dream of having a child.

Of course, life sometimes offers us our dreams in ways we never would have expected.

Can Joanna let go of her expectations, even if it means estranging herself from the family who raised her and, perhaps, the man she loves? What will she do to fulfil the strongest wish of her heart?