What Love Leaves Behind by Marian L. Thomas
Some heartbreaks break you. Others rebuild you.
Etta Harris has spent her life caring for other people’s babies as a nurse—but never had the chance to raise one of her own. When a newborn girl is left orphaned at the hospital, something inside her stirs. She knows this child belongs with her. But her husband isn’t convinced—and the dream that once felt within reach threatens to unravel their marriage.
Down the same hospital halls, Darren Johnson is shattered by the loss of his wife during childbirth. Though his newborn son survived, Darren is drowning in grief—unable to connect with the baby who now needs him most.
As Etta fights for a child who was never meant to be hers, and Darren struggles to become the father he never expected to be, long-buried truths emerge—revealing a bond that could change all of their lives forever.
What Love Leaves Behind Book Reviews
“Original, unique, exceptional, deftly crafted, compelling, and an emotionally engaging read from cover to cover. What Love Leaves Behind by novelist Marian L. Thomas is one of those contemporary novels that will linger in the mind and memory long after it has been finished and set back upon the shelf.”
-James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, Midwest Book Review
“What Love Leaves Behind by Marian L. Thomas…captured my attention from the very first page. The story took me on a roller coaster of emotions: grief, hope, and the power of friendship… The characters were well-developed, each with a distinct role and purpose in the unfolding plot…This was an exceptional book, brought to a satisfying and memorable conclusion. It is a story that will stay with me long after turning the last page.”
-Alma Boucher for Readers’ Favorite
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Excerpt: What Love Leaves Behind (Women’s Fiction)
Prologue
The clock on the stark white wall read 10:05 p.m., its steady ticking muffled beneath the relentless storm outside.
Turning her head, the young woman caught sight of the rain streaking down the window, each droplet racing to meet the earth, as if mirroring the urgency inside her petite body.
The doctor’s voice sliced through the haze, firm yet insistent, urging her to push.
The woman’s insides burned, fire coursing through all her veins, every nerve alight as the moments dragged on, each one heavier than the last.
Tears began streaming down the sides of her face, soaking the pillow, mingling with the sweat that was pouring from her temples.
Then she screamed, her youthful voice primal and raw, a sound that seemed to erupt from somewhere deep and unrecognizable. And then, she did as she was told: she turned her gaze back to the clock and pushed with everything she had left.
Life.
The young woman was bringing life into the world. That was all that mattered. The sound of the baby’s cry pierced the air like the lightning bolt outside, splitting open the night sky—fierce, defiant, and unapologetically alive.
It was as if the child had arrived with a purpose, demanding her voice be heard.
For one breathless moment, the chaos in the room stilled, everyone transfixed by the raw power of that sound, a declaration of life that silenced everything else.
“It’s a girl,” someone announced, their voice wavering with relief and awe. The words drifted to the mother, wrapping themselves around her heart like a warm blanket.
She longed to see her baby, to hold her, yet her body felt distant as if no longer belonging to her. The room blurred at the edges, the bright lights fading into something more transcendent.
“Bring her to me,” her weak voice whispered at last, barely more than the merest huff of air. And then, the baby was there, cradled, a tiny, perfect human swaddled in a soft pink blanket.
Her hazel eyes locked onto those of the mother, the child’s own wide and unblinking, as though already searching for answers, already knowing what her mother had done.
There was strength in the newborn’s gaze, a raw intensity that held her mother captive even as she felt her grip on the world beginning to loosen and let go.
“My little Storm,” she murmured, the name slipping out as naturally as the tears slipping down her reddened cheeks. “You are my strength, my reason. Everything …”
The newborn’s tiny fingers curled around hers, and the weight of her felt like the most beautiful thing this mother had ever held.
The woman’s heart swelled enough to shatter and rebuild a thousand times in the space of a single moment, the edges of the room fading further as her body gave way to exhaustion.
Her breaths were starting to come shallower, softer, barely audible.
But still she could hear the infant’s cries, her fierce, wild cries that lit up the darkness closing in fast. “Life. I brought life into the world,” she uttered, her voice wavering, rising above the pains now threatening to consume her.
He’d said the baby would never see the sun. But the mother had won.
A slow and weary smile spread across her face. Her child would be safe; she had made sure of it.
That was enough. She could take that with her, could let go of her now.
Looking once more into her child’s fresh eyes, the mother’s lips moved ever so gingerly.
The words forgive me slipped off her tongue, soft and delicate as a whisper, carried away into the stillness of a night she would never see again.
They dissolved like smoky wisps into the air.
( Continued… )
Copyright 2025 All rights reserved. Book excerpt reprinted by permission of the author, Marian L. Thomas. Do not reproduce, copy or use without the author’s written permission. This excerpt is used for promotional purposes only.