Degrees of Love

In the blink of an eye, in the space of seconds, everything you know to be true can be lost forever.

For Lily and Jack, that moment comes when their baby daughter, home alone with Lily, pulls a pot of boiling water off the stove and suffers terrible burns. It is an accident, but the state suspects abuse and takes temporary custody of the child.

To win her back, Lily and Jack must prove to strangers that they are good parents and that their daughter belongs with them and their two sons. They must convince others even as they struggle to once again believe it themselves...even as they begin to fall away from each other just when they most need to be together.

Rachel Basch's remarkable debut is an eloquent and touching story about family and individuality, guilt and blame, and how love can fail us or save us, often to our great surprise. It is a book to be cherished, a rich novel that will linger in every reader's mind and heart.

Rachel Basch received her B.A. from Wesleyan University and her M.A., from New York University where she had a teaching fellowship. She has published fiction in Redbook and lives with her husband and children in Connecticut.