A deeply moving novel about hopeful beginnings and profound endings - from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Night Watch.

'A brilliant writer, utterly original and with an astonishing range' - IAN McEWAN

'Phillips combines extraordinary perception with extraordinary versatility and power' - MARGARET ATWOOD

'Shimmering prose, fierce realism and probing meditativeness' - SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

'The beauty and originality of MotherKind are undeniable' - TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

One summer's day, 30-year-old Kate flies to her Appalachian hometown to tell her mother she is pregnant. But when she arrives, her mother reveals that she doesn't have long to live. Kate is suddenly thrust into roles of enormous responsibility, caring for both her child and her terminally ill mother.

In the same year that she watches her newborn grow, Kate witnesses the gradual disappearance of a woman who has been her best friend and mentor her entire life, and is forced to reckon with devastating loss alongside a joyful new beginning.