First Chapter: White Lies by Susan Barrett

White Lies by Susan Barrett, August 31, 2016.
White Lies explores the joys and hazards of adoption, told from the perspectives of three women over half a century.

First chapter:

Beth: The Beginning 

Through the white light of pain Beth sees Joe. He stands at the foot of her bed, a forlorn, useless figure. Why did they let him in? Do they think he's the father? Six purple flowers flop their heads from a bunch clutched in his hand. Flowers are the last things she needs. Their name hovers in the gust of her pain. They'll need water, but what can she do about that? She cannot think of anything beyond the present colossal pain of agony. It overwhelms her. She is a single, screaming universe, pelvic bones pushed to their limits. Bodies are not designed for this. Her unwanted baby's head is stuck, it will kill her. Nothing gives. There is no release. 

"Daisies," Joe says, kneeling beside her. "From your mom's balcony."

Author SUSAN BARRETT has had seven novels published in UK and USA. Other work includes travel writing, television drama, and wildlife and children’s books illustrated by her husband Peter. They have two adopted children, now middle-aged. She has mentored new writers, held creative writing workshops, established a website for the writers and readers of quality fiction, and continues to write while practising as a counsellor.

Based on the beginning paragraph of the novel, would you read on?

MEME: Every Tuesday Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros sharing the first paragraph or two, from a book you are reading or will be reading soon.