A cash-strapped farm girl will sacrifice anything— even her body—to save a dying father and a mortgaged farm. Determined to overcome every adversity, Laura Ann McGehee perseveres, her life unexpectedly intertwined with the hearts of two strangers in a riveting tale of family ties and redemption in the mountains of West Virginia . . . first in The Pandora Files, a unique, a unique bioethics suspense series from Zondervan Publishers, in bookstores now.
Unprecedented choices never intended by heaven . . .
Unintended consequences never before seen on earth
Brace yourself for this gripping introduction to The Pandora Files—a new series of biotech suspense novels by award-winning techno-thriller author Austin Boyd.
Experience the trials of Laura Ann McGehee—Determined to honor her father’s dying request, the young West Virginia woman will do whatever it takes to save the family farm, including using the one remaining financial resource she has—her body.
Meet Sophia McQuistion—Thanks to the unusual sacrifice of a woman she has never met, she carries the child she could never conceive. Walk in the shoes of Ian Stewart—In Laura Ann’s time of need, he’s more than just a close friend. He is a source of grace, a man who loves Laura Ann through her many trials.
When unusual circumstances place Sophia’s baby in Laura Ann’s care, Laura Ann is now the virgin mother of her own biological son. The media call him “Nobody’s Child.” But somebody wants him badly enough to steal the baby. What price will a mother pay to save her only son?
Weaving together bioethics and faith, Nobody’s Child dramatizes a future that is already upon us with consequences we can no longer avoid.
Watch the book trailer and author interview at the bottom of this page
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Just because we can, should we?
I want every reader to ask that question after finishing each novel in my new series, The Pandora Files, from Zondervan Publishers and Harper Collins. The technical ability to do something in medicine should not connote automatic endorsement of that particular technology or new procedure. We are rushing headlong into a bioethical “Pandora’s Box” because society has not considered all the impacts of our actions in biotechnology. In this first novel of a bioethics series, I framed both sides of the dilemma about egg donation and reproductive ethics. I leave the reader wondering, in the mind of the main character (and egg donor) Laura Ann McGehee, “how many children do I have?” and “will this painful procedure leave me sterile?”
Is egg donation good or bad? The answer’s not as simple as you’d think.
Let the reader be the judge. But choose wisely.
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What are they saying?
“Nobody’s Child is a heartrending, beautiful story about the choices we make in desperation and the grace that helps us move on in the aftermath. Austin Boyd captures the complexity of bioethics, but he does so in the framework of a page-turning story. This would be a perfect summer read.”
– Mary DeMuth, award-winning author The Defiance Texas Trilogy and The Muir House.
“Through the power of fiction, Austin Boyd brings to life a compelling story of the complex connections between the frustration of infertility and the desperation of financial necessity. One woman is selling what another woman desperately yearns for: eggs to produce a child. The cost is more than any woman can anticipate. This is the stuff of everyday bioethics.”
– Paige Cunningham, Executive Director, The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, Deerfield, IL.
“Visit any infertility website and you will be bombarded with happy success stories and pictures of cute babies and beautiful families. Of course, they are an industry with a product to sell. Fortunately, Nobody’s Child, paints a more realistic picture of the complexities of infertility, raising important ethical questions surrounding the risks to women’s health and our duties to and the rights of the children created through reproductive technologies.”
– Jennifer Lahl, President, The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network, Producer of the documentary Eggsploitation.
“In the creative hands of Austin Boyd, today’s crucial bioethical challenges take on an unforgetable human face. I can’t wait to read the entire Pandora Files series!”
– John Kilner, Director of Bioethics Programs, Trinity International University and author of Why the Church Needs Bioethics
“Thank you Austin Boyd for reminding us of a subject to often neglected, even in the pro life community… wonderfully written… easy to read… Highly recommended.”
– Wales A. Goebel, founder of Save a Life Ministries, Life Adoption Agency, and Life Line Homes for Girls
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Purchase an autographed copy
$12, signed by the author, shipping included
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Watch the book trailer video below
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Watch an interview with the author
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