Saving Jane Doe
Released in May 2016, “Saving Jane Doe” is available at these fine retailers or ask your favorite bookstore. Currently available in e-book formats.
Suffering complications of an illegal abortion, a young mother of three nearly loses her life and does lose her family. No Easy Way Out is the story of her quest to restore her relationship with her children told by the young doctor who meets her while a medical student and becomes her lifelong friend. When Jessie is homeless, penniless, alone, and jobless, Dr. Cara Land finds her a job working as housekeeper to a wise and wealthy, elderly widower, Cara’s Uncle Henry.
Because of her circumstances following the abortion, Jessie finds herself with unique opportunities to be of assistance to each of her children when they face their own difficult choices, but honesty and forgiveness are needed before she can help. Because of her shame, it takes years for Jessie to be honest with her children about why she suddenly left and did not return home. Two of the three children feel abandoned and unloved and have difficulty forgiving her. Only, Grace, the youngest daughter and least flawed character, never withdraws in anger but in her innocence still suffers.
You will want a doctor and friend like Cara Land. You will wish you had the wise counsel of Uncle Henry. You will see that while our choices have consequences, God is able to redeem our mistakes, to make us wonder what might have happened had we not made them. Of course, had we not made these mistakes, we would have made others. Finally, you will see that there is power in love and forgiveness.
Reviews
“I finished your book yesterday. It is very good! It needs to be published! I am praying it will be. I loved the way you wove the relationships over a 25 year period and how the power of forgiveness brought them together again… much good info and many valuable messages.” – Kathy Ellingsen
“I loved it! It makes such a statement about love and forgiveness that permeates over generations. You have a plan and theme and it works beautifully! Thank you for sharing. It was very special for me! I do wish you well as you go forth with this work. It certainly has a place in our world!” – Pat Tatman
“I have just finished reading Saving Jane Doe. I could not put it down. I cannot tell you how it touched every fiber of my heart. Life is hard and I have experienced some of that as do we all before we leave here. However, I have had to deal with some issues that you wrote about in your book and this has helped me see the other side of those issues which I needed to see. The choices we make are not always cut and dried, so to speak. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart for this book and your experiences of dealing with life and death issues. There is always another side to every story and God knows both sides. Praise the Lord for His wonderful and ever present Grace to each of us. I am so thankful I am His and He is mine!
I have cried and rejoiced all the way through this book. By the way, you need to think about writing another book. I loved this one.” – Susan Slusher
“I finished “Saving Jane Doe” last night and really enjoyed it. It was hard to put it down! One of my measures of an excellent book is wondering what happens to the characters next and thinking about them for several days after finishing the book! Well, you accomplished that! I LOVED Uncle Henry!
“I also loved all the local touches and the bits of history. When Mother and Daddy lived in Maysville, the Pollocks came down from Massachusetts for a visit and got a trip-tic from AAA. The ticket warned them of the need to stay alert on the trip from Maysville to Lexington because it was such a straight road and tended to be a boring drive. We all got a great laugh out of that since the designer of the ticket had obviously never been on that road. Your buffalo/bourbon line is a hoot! One of my MSU colleagues and a friend owned a gift shop in Washington (The Iron Gate), and I have eaten at the old inn several times. Bradford Tavern? Great job!! – Mary Anne Pollock
“This is a great book club book. It will prompt lots of discussion on the hot-button topic of abortion. It’s the first work of fiction I have read that presents a compassionate look at the debate about abortion. Compassion seems to be the starting point for Purcell’s look at the multi-faceted way to view this. As an OB/GYN she has seen the ramifications of the choices women make when confronted with an unplanned pregnancy. Very human and very touching.” – Ceil Dorger
“I enjoyed it a lot! Your portrayal of Jon, my favorite character, was the most believable. You really captured the feel of Lexington-Green Tree, Keeneland, fall leaves. A complex, believable story. – Susan Harbour
“A delightful contemporary story of a woman lost then redeemed. The author draws upon the medical community of Lexington, Kentucky and family faith to salvage Emergency Room patients Jane Doe in her journey to restore her identity. Rejection follows abandonment, reunion accompanies rebellion and secrets lead to confessions spun from the vortex of two characters in the ER. Encompassing the politics of four decades to include but not limited to; fashion details, gardening, sexually transmitted disease, divorce, colon cancer and familiar family holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. While a mistake may lead to crisis-even label someone-it does not limit or define the life of women, children, nor man. Dr. Purcell reminds the reader we all need grace and forgiveness. I simply could not stop reading until I completely finished the book. Excellent work and good luck Carolyn! – Elizabeth Burklow-Perry
Carolyn Purcell MD 