The Miraculous Flight of Owen Leach

Summary

What happens when a 19-year-old girl, alone and exhausted, follows a fleeting impulse and tosses her screaming infant son out a window? What happens if that baby is caught by a woman who—standing below—looks up and reaches out? And what if the catcher's own fragile pregnancy ends, causing her to believe that the baby she caught is meant to be hers?

The Miraculous Flight of Owen Leach is told from alternating points of view of the three main characters: young mother Sophia Leach, baby-catcher Rose Rankin, and Rose’s husband, Hank, who feels like a suited-up coach standing on the sidelines. While Rose dives head-on into pursuing custody of Owen Leach, she neglects her own two-year-old son and her marriage. Hank—desperate to be needed—and Sophia—drawn to the idea of family stability—get dangerously close.

How far will Rose go to get custody if Sophia refuses to hand over her son? What will be the cost to Hank and Rose’s marriage? How does a desperate mother gain control in an uncontrollable world?

The Miraculous Flight of Owen Leach is a novel about what it means to be a “good” mother, and who gets to decide.