The Library Love Fest team has a treat for you! We're excited to share a letter to librarians from Laney Katz Becker, author of In the Family Way! Hear directly from Laney about her forthcoming novel, the background behind the book, and her own connection to libraries.
More about In the Family Way (on sale 6/3/25):
Set in the 1960s before Roe, a poignant and powerful novel in the vein of Lessons in Chemistry and Big Little Lies, about the friendship between a group of suburban housewives who help one another navigate through their personal challenges, marriages, and their pregnancies—both wanted and unwanted.
More about Laney Katz Becker:
Laney Katz Becker is an award-winning author, writer, and a former literary agent. Her books include the debut novel, Dear Stranger, Dearest Friend, and the nonfiction anthology, Three Times Chai, a collection of rabbis’ favorite stories. When she’s not writing, Laney enjoys drawing, sewing, reading, long walks, playing tennis, and canasta. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, raised her two children in Westchester County, New York, and currently lives on the east coast of Florida with her husband and their Havanese.
Download an egalley on Edelweiss or NetGalley.
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Dear Librarians,
I’m so thankful for this opportunity to tell you about my novel In the Family Way, which will be available from HarperCollins on June 3, 2025.
Set in the mid-1960s, In the Family Way is, at its heart, a story about the friendship between a group of suburban housewives who must rely on each other to navigate through life’s challenges, marital issues, and pregnancies—both wanted and unwanted—during a time when abortion is illegal and the women’s movement is not much more than a fledgling idea. It’s a cross between Big Little Lies (the friendship angle) Lessons in Chemistry, (the feminist bent) and Looking for Jane (an exploration of reproductive rights).
I was inspired to write this novel days after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the Dobbs decision—which overturned Roe and took away a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. I was watching the evening news and saw video of a protest. There was an old(er) woman holding up a sign that said “I Can’t Believe I Have to Protest This Sh*t Again.” Next to her was a younger woman, probably in her 20s. Her sign said “We Cannot Go Back.”
“She’s too young to even know what that means,” I yelled at the TV.
Someone really needs to write a novel about what times were like back then, I thought. That’s when it hit me. During all the years it mattered to me, Roe was the law of the land. Even I didn’t have a full picture of what things were like for women (like my mother) who married and had babies before the women’s movement took flight. I was motivated to find out. First stop was, naturally, the library, where I consulted with the research librarian and began working my way through non-fiction books to better understand exactly what women could and couldn’t do “back then.” Once again I found myself thinking Someone really needs to write a novel about all this. Obviously, I decided that someone was me!
In anticipation of the release of In the Family Way I’ve tried—I’ve really tried—to be better about posting book-related news on social media. And I’m fortunate because there’s been a lot of exciting things to share. But, perhaps because I’m a woman of a certain age, I must confess: Instagram and Facebook just don’t do it for me. You know what does?
Hoopla! Libby! CloudLibrary! Whenever I get a notification that a book I’ve put on hold is now available to download to my e-reader, or listen to on my phone… now that is an adrenaline rush! I remember the days “back then” when there were no apps. Instead, I’d visit the Chappaqua library, run toward the “Rapid Read” shelf and hope to get lucky. I also remember how, when we moved from NY to Florida, I grabbed two pieces of mail with my new address so I could get a library card from the Palm Beach Gardens Library. Only once I had that card in my hand did I feel like a true resident in my new hometown.
Nowadays, I do most of my browsing, downloading, and listening through the apps. (I swear I felt a surge of dopamine just typing those words!) However, that doesn’t mean I no longer visit the physical library. I still go for bookclub meetings and to get help from the reference librarian (mostly for my next novel). I also make it a point to be there during the last week of September for Banned Books Week, because seeing all those wonderful covers on display, enticing young adults to pick the forbidden fruit—well, that brings me so much joy.
That said, my most favorite time to visit the library happened just last week when my grandchildren were visiting from Illinois. We had a morning of horrible weather and after baking cookies I asked the six-year-old what he wanted to do next. Without hesitation he asked, “Is the library awake yet?”
On that note, let me send out a gigantic thanks to all of you librarians for all you do, all the readers you inspire, all the writers and authors you assist, for all the lives you touch in ways big and small, and for giving moms like me traditions we can pass along to our children and grandchildren.
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Thank you, Laney, for taking the time to write such a heartfelt letter and a touching novel. Check out this praise from Catherine Newman, who shares the same sentiment as us:
“In the Family Way bursts with the complexity, drama, and warmth of Call the Midwife, but set at the canasta and kitchen tables of 1960s suburban America. This timely, timeless novel captures not only the reproductive horrors of that era but also political awakening and a kind of nostalgic hope: it's a changing world, and Roe, behind us now, was glimmering on the horizon then. Laney Katz Becker so beautifully reveals that where there are women's hardships, there is consolation to be found, then and still, in each other's company and care.”
— Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich
All of our thanks again to Laney! Keep your eye out for In the Family Way, on sale 6/3/25.
