This novel is the first work of literary fiction to seriously examine the personal politics of choice. Five women, old college friends now approaching the age of forty, find their interlocking relationships strained when one of them decides to have a late-term abortion after delaying the decision in the hope that her husband would change his mind. The novel records the voices of her four friends as they struggle to bridge the gap between what they should feel and what they do feel. The women — an obstetric nurse, a public relations writer, a social worker, and a state college professor — are all actively described at their jobs with their loyalties divided. This book chronicles the lives of these women as they tackle issues of pregnancy vs. abortion, marriage vs. divorce, and career vs. motherhood.

"Trueblood has written a beautiful novel about five women entering their 40s and discovering fault lines and continental drift where there was once easy collegiate friendship. She explores hot topics — abortion, child-raising, divorce — but the real beauty is in the writing, graceful, with startling metaphors that unexpectedly pop up, like land mines."
—Rem Ryals, Village Books, Bellingham, WA

"Now in their late thirties, five college friends discover that their past history can't maintain their bonhomie, especially when their views and values strongly diverge. Each woman takes center stage in alternating chapters that converge without necessarily overlapping. Trueblood draws blood as these friends confront the disappointment of their own choices as well as those of one another. Graphic in its depiction of obstetrical complications, this book presents a beautifully drawn yet harsh portrait of love in its varied permutations and how finding happiness really is a matter of chance. Highly recommended for literary fiction collections.
—Library Journal

"Divorce, kids, careers, boyfriends, finding yourself—Trueblood's debut novel announces itself early on as mainstream women's fiction. Trueblood's sympathetic juggling between the various points of view proves an effective way of showing that simple formulas don't work for today's women."
—Booklist

The Sperm Donor's Daughter and Other Tales of Modern Family
by Kathryn Trueblood
The Permanent Press
April 1998, 168 Pages
ISBN 1-57962-006-X, Cloth $22
Excerpts

This novel explores the impact of artificial insemination on human identity and looks at the potential repercussions for both mother and child. The story is told from the perspectives of a mother with many secrets and a strong desire to restructure the past, and a daughter who is the result of artificial insemination and has only recently discovered it. She is just beginning to discover her identity in relation to the men around her and is furious when she uncovers her true origins. After locating her father's picture in a medical school yearbook, she sets off to find him, fueled by a strong desire to get to know him... and simultaneously hurt her mother.

"The language in Kathryn Trueblood's new collection of stories, The Sperm Donor's Daughter, blooms with the allure and heady fragrance of jungle flora—exotic saps waiting to be tapped; potent cures lurking, as yet undiscovered. Even her characters—common place citizens at first glance—harbor a drop of wild blood that curdles and froths against the threat of too much domesticity. In an uncertain and infinitely complex world, Trueblood's stories demand that we sit up, pay attention, and care."
—The Seattle Times Post-Intelligencer

"Sag Harbor's Permanent Press has an obstinate belief in literary fiction's burgeoning talents.  Its latest discovery is Kathryn Trueblood, whose novella is a psychologically nuanced meditation on identity and makeshift bonds.
—New York Magazine

"This is the kind of cross-wired writing that leads to somewhere new. The standout is the 100-page title piece (which) erupts with wisdom about who is responsible for what in a pregnancy."
—Kirkus Reviews