Nothing Else Matters by Jean Smith Carlton

Independently published, November 18, 2022

241 pages

Reviewed by Joan Bauer

It’s an unusually warm day in November of 1940, and Clare Pedersen is expecting her first child. Her favorite baby names are all in her notebook, where she meticulously tracks her expenses: twenty-four cents for diaper pins, fifty-nine cents for talcum powder. The mild weather has tempted the Pedersens out to the woods one last time before their baby is born. Though Clare defers to her inconsiderate husband Ronald, she is full of misgivings about leaving the Twin Cities so late in pregnancy. And then her worst fears come to pass: her contractions begin, and her water breaks just as a freak storm begins to blow. Clare takes a fall and blacks out, and in the morning, she learns that her baby is gone. Her husband points out a tiny mound with a cross made out of twigs. “She was too small,” he says. And then: “I wanted to spare you.” It will be four long years of confusion and grief—years that will drain the love from the Pedersens’ marriage--before Clare learns the truth of what happened.

Smith Carlton’s characterization is delightfully subtle. Clare is an inveterate maker of lists; but she can be more than a little impulsive, and her desire for privacy leads her to do some odd things. Upon learning that her husband abandoned their newborn at a hospital in the town of Crosby, Clare bides her time before going to visit; and when she arrives, she tells no one her identity, haunting the newspaper archives for weeks before she will admit what she’s doing there. Of Ned Sorenson, the reporter who first broke the story, she says, “I like him … and I’ve lied to him.” And just when Ned can look forward to a big hamburger or a plate of roast beef, Clare will storm out of the restaurant, too agitated to eat. She doesn’t always call back, and she rarely has time to explain. And when she finally comes clean with Ned--who has an obligation, not just to the story, but to the woman who has lovingly cared for the child all this time--he says, “’You don’t get it do you? …. You are the story. Coming to town claiming to be that abandoned baby’s mother almost four years later!’”

Clare’s impulsiveness links her to her biological child in interesting ways. When the little girl is injured in an accident, her adoptive mother Helen “vow[s] to delight in her enthusiastic nature rather than attempt to subdue it.” And like the true mother in the biblical story of Solomon, Clare must ultimately do what is best for her child, whatever the cost.

There are plenty of good things here for readers to savor, whether you prefer romance, historical fiction, or a little of both. During periods of stress, Clare alternates between starving herself and subsisting on snacks, but readers will know that she’s making the right decision when the delightful aromas of roast beef, apple pie, and freshly-baked bread start to remind her of home.

Reviewer Joan Bauer holds a master's degree in English and has worked as a trust officer in a bank. Her short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in Amethyst Review, Dappled Things, San Antonio Review, The Windhover, and Boudin, the online home of The McNeese Review. A novelette, "Consignment," is forthcoming in August of 2023 from ELJ Editions.