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The Surrogate

A Novel

About The Book

To a penniless twenty-year-old like Jamie Long, surrogate motherhood seemed both an act of altruism and a financial opportunity. But once pregnant and under contract to Amanda Hartmann, the head of a famous evangelical family, Jamie realizes that she's getting more than she bargained for. Whisked away to the vast, isolated family ranch, she's closely supervised and carefully cut off from the outside world. She learns the family's dark secrets -- and sees the enormity of their ruthlessness. When Jamie hears Amanda's plan to claim the baby as her natural-born child, she begins to suspect that her own life is in danger and resolves to flee.

Alone with a tiny newborn, she calls on the one man in the world she can trust -- her high school crush, Joe Brammer. Their love unites them in a struggle to escape, and soon enough their flight becomes a fight for their lives.

Brilliantly weaving some of today's most controversial social issues into a captivating page-turner, The Surrogate is Judith Henry Wall's greatest triumph to date.

Reading Group Guide

The Surrogate
1. Gus Hartmann is described as being an atheist who is more interested in political power than the religion he uses as a tool to achieve his family's goals. But when his beloved nephew, Sonny, is left in a persistent vegetative state from a horrible accident, he prays fervently to God. What does this tell you about Gus's character? So many people who are otherwise nonreligious find themselves praying in dire circumstances. Do you think their prayers are hypocritical or somehow less sincere? If you believe in God, do you think he listens even to the prayers of nonbelievers?
2. Jamie has to weigh "mortgaging her future" to pay off her debt and finish her education versus mortgaging her body and a year of her life to the Hartmanns. What would you do in her situation? What is a year of your life worth to you? Can a price be put on an unborn child or any human being for that matter?
3. On the one hand, Jamie's decision to become a surrogate is altruistic: she wants to help a couple that cannot successfully conceive on their own. How do you feel about the other hand: the idea of pregnancy as a business arrangement?
4. Does Jamie's virginity make you more or less sympathetic to her decision to become a surrogate? Do you think she has less of an understanding of what she's about to do because of her inexperience with sex and love? How does a healthy sex life affect the relationship a woman has with her own body?
5. Amanda Hartmann and her followers are often described in terms reminiscent of dictators and cult leaders. How much do you think her apparently sincere belief in God or her "saintly" actions differentiate her from other charismatic leaders of more overtly insidious persuasions? Can you pinpoint the moment when Amanda crosses the line from following the word of God to using religion as an excuse to satisfy her own desires? Do you think she is ever truly aware of the depravity of what she is doing?
6. The novel carries some heavy political implications. Do you relate any of the people or situations in the book to current conditions in the United States?
7. How do you feel about the statement that "it's easy to be 'good' when you have someone do your dirty work for you"? How guilty is Amanda with regard to the crimes her brother commits to further their joint agendas?
8. Bentley Abernathy remarks that "if there is such a thing as redemption, Gus Hartmann earned it" when he sacrificed his life to save Jamie's. Do you agree with this statement? How much wrong can be righted with one truly sacrificial act? What is it, ultimately, that transforms Gus?
9. Jamie and Joe say they want to raise their family outside of the United States until they "know that sort of abuse of power can no longer happen in this country again." Do you think such abuses are happening now? Do you agree that leaving the country is the best course of action, or do you think people should stay and fight such egregious constitutional violations?

Enhance Your Book Club Experience
1. In the biography on her Web site, the author shares that she meets once a month with friends to discuss books. Spend some time browsing Judith Henry Wall's Web site (www.judithhenrywall.com).
2. As a supplement to your discussion about Amanda Hartmann and religions versus cults, try doing a little research to find out how others are debating the issue. These sites will get you started:
http://www.spiritwatch.org/cultdef.htm http://www.ex-cult.org/General/identifying-a-cult

About The Author

Photo Credit:

Judith Henry Wall is the author of several previous novels, including The Girlfriends Club, My Mother's Daughter, If Love Were All, Blood Sisters, and Love and Duty. She lives in Norman, Oklahoma.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster (May 2, 2006)
  • Length: 352 pages
  • ISBN13: 9780743258517

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Raves and Reviews

"Lyrical and emotionally riveting, The Surrogate by Judith Henry Wall provides pulse-pounding suspense, tender devotion, and passionate desire as a desperate young mother fights for her baby and her life."
-- Carolyn Hart, author of the Death on Demand mysteries

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