Maybe Baby

The Glides of Fort Cloud, Wisconsin, are a spectacularly dysfunctional family. Rusty and Judy did the best they could when raising their three children, but somehow, nothing turned out the way they planned: Henry ran away and joined a rock band; Carson ran away and joined a cult; and Gretchen ran away and joined a 'gender-neutral' movement. The Glide parents have just about resigned themselves to the fact that their kids will never live up to their expectations- when a ray of hope comes in the form of a new baby. Judy's heart soars when Gretchen announces that she and her disturbingly hirsute boyfriend, Ray, are expecting their first child. But it isn't long before Gretchen's unorthodox approach to parenting turns what should be a happy time into a typical Glide family war of wills. Gretchen proposes to raise her child absent any indication of its sex: no pink or blue nursery, no baby dolls or trucks, no-to Judy's horror -traditional boy or girl names. In order to be part of their grandchild's life, Rusty and Judy must first come to terms with their daughter-a realization that prompts them to look at themselves and their entire family with new eyes. Written with daring and humor and with the confidence of a seasoned novelist, Tenaya Darlington's debut is a funny, heartwarming, and insightful novel about the real meaning of family.