Whose actions—or inactions—do you think were the most harmful, and why?

This novel features betrayal, deceptions, and outright lies. Whose actions—or inactions—do you think were the most harmful, and why?

I think Janice's action and inactions are the most harmful in this novel. By offering help to Emma initially, she appears to make Emma over dependent upon her. As a result, Emma does not take the time she needs early in her pregnancy to decide how she want to manage her situation. The lovely weekend away with Janice, the shopping, the gifting of clothes for Emma and for the baby - all this seemed, after a fashion, a bit manipulative. When all of this does not produce the results for Janice that she hoped for, and when Emma becomes mentally stable, has the baby, and decides to keep it, then Janice lies to the medical staff about what she has witnessed. This, of course, results in her securing Charlie for herself - her plan from the start.

Because Janice is not able, in the long run, to live with her deceptions, she then leaves her husband and son, and telling no one where she has gone, she takes final action that I find to be truly reprehensible. Yes, Emma did mislead Charlie and create some very difficult times for her own family, but had she been left to care for Charlie from birth, as she planned, none of that would have happened.

I agree with Sisiej about Janice. Emma was vulnerable, and Janice's obsession with wanting a child led her to desperate measures. I'm not sure we can make assumptions about what would have happened if Emma had kept Charlie - that would have been a different story to tell.

Janice’s actions were definitely most harmful. She not only caused a child to be taken from his mother but she also caused his mother to think that she did something horrific to her baby. Until Emma found out the truth her whole life was based on lies and the fear of what she might do again.

There is enough action/ inaction to spread the wealth around. Janice, however, created the greatest challenges for all with her insecurities, fears, desire to wound, and instability.

Janice certainly comes across as an unstable conniving woman who is so desparate for a child that she will do almost anything, but Emma should have taken some responsibility in those 20 years,or sought help to do so in that time. She has possibly ruined her life with Leo and Ruby, along with her own and the one she wants with Charlie.

Clearly Janice's actions are the most harmful. However I think she spends the rest of her life feeling regret for what she has done. Emma's life would have been so different had she been able to raise her son so Janice's actions forever changed Emma's life.

Janice was the villain but she was correct in her opinion that Emma was not prepared in any fashion to be a mother. The lie she told about what she claimed to have seen had such a negative impact on Emma’s life and had severe repercussions for so many and was heartbreaking and unforgivable.

I think they were both at fault. Emma kept her past hidden I think partly from shame and partly from not wanting to upset Leo after he found out about his adoption. I think Leo became upset with finding messages and documents Emma had hidden and jumped to conclusions with what he read and looking at her phone messages. He should have asked her right away instead of being jealous and thinking the worst.

There is a lot of blame to go around in this story, but Janice deserves the bulk of it. When I finished the part where her actions are revealed, I was genuinely angry. That doesn't happen very often for me when reading fiction (which is a testament to Walsh's storytelling skills), but I can't imagine putting someone through what she willingly put Emma through. We often talk about business meetings as time in our lives that we can never get back, but those are hours. This was years, and that doesn't even begin to address the psychological implications.