Whatever It Takes by Sarah Hanks
Whatever It Takes
My new release Whatever It Takes is the 3rd split-time novel in the Sisters in Arms collection featuring secret female Civil War soldiers in the historical storyline. Each book can be read as a standalone.
The modern-day storyline features two sisters, Everly and Ivy. When cancer steals Ivy’s womb, Everly steps up to be her surrogate. To do so, she must face past trauma and lean on the Lord to walk in freedom.
Each book in the Sisters in Arms collection is personal to me for different reasons. This time around, I found myself going through much of the process Everly went through. Not because I’m a surrogate, but because my husband and I adopted an embryo.
As I wrote about Everly undergoing painful progesterone shots to prepare her womb, I was giving myself those same shots. As I wrote about Everly experiencing the embryo transfer, I had an embryo transferred to my womb. As I wrote about the sisters eagerly waiting to see if the pregnancy “stuck”, I was undergoing that excruciating ten-day wait. Talk about research!
I’m now over half-way through this pregnancy. This baby will not have our genes, but she will have our love. Unlike Everly, we will get to keep her and raise her in our family, loving her all the days of her life.
In my *book* research of surrogates, I found it fascinating how different women deal with the process of handing a baby they’ve carried for nine months over to the genetic mother. It seems excruciatingly hard to me. Nearly impossible. And yet, women do this for many reasons. The inspiration for Everly and Ivy’s story came from two sisters in New Zealand who had a similar situation. (You can read their story in Amazing Grace: A story of surrogacy and the love of two New Zealand sisters.) One sister offered her womb to the other. What a beautiful sacrifice. What love!
Yet this was far from picture perfect. Pregnancy hormones are no joke. Pair that with the emotions of someone who has undergone cancer and no longer has a womb and it’s a prime situation for conflict. Having been on both sides of the natural health spectrum, I thought it would be interesting to incorporate those differing opinions and world views.
Ultimately, my hope is that Whatever It Takes points the reader to the One who made the ultimate sacrifice to bring us into His family. There is truly no greater love.
You can purchase Whatever It Takes here. It’s also free on KU.
About the Book:
At the brink of the Civil War, Henrietta Frontenac is a fierce protector of her five younger sisters. As poverty and despair threaten their survival, Henrietta takes a bold step to protect her family. She disguises herself as a man to find work at the docks and is soon swept into the ranks of the Confederate army. Facing unimaginable risks, will she maintain her secret identity, or will unexpected love unravel all she’s worked for?
In the present, Everly Moore, a former wild spirit turned compassionate chiropractor, has spent fifteen years trying to redeem her past. When her beloved sister Ivy faces the heart-wrenching challenge of infertility, Everly finds herself at a crossroads, unsure if she can confront her own trauma and step up as Ivy’s surrogate. After Everly and Ivy stumble upon the story of their brave relative Henrietta, they are inspired to confront their own fears. But will they make the difficult choices that could change their lives forever?
Dive deep into this intertwined narrative where past and present collide, showcasing the unyielding strength of sisterhood. A story of love, resilience, and the battles that unite us across generations.
About the Author:
Sarah Hanks is an award-winning author of Christian fiction in both the contemporary and historical genres. After spending over a decade mostly writing and teaching Sunday school curricula for churches in her community, she jumped into writing fiction full-time with her split-time novel Mercy Will Follow Me. She and her husband have nine children, a couple of whom seem to have inherited their mother’s love for playing with words and crafting stories. Though Sarah dreams of a cabin by the beach, the family lives jammed together in beautiful chaos near St. Louis, Missouri. She buys earplugs in bulk.
You can follow her on Facebook or Instagram @authorsarahhanks.
