A tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family and a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for and everything she feared

Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had.

But in the thick of motherhood's exhausting early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter she doesn't behave like most children do.

Or is it all in Blythe's head? Her husband, Fox, says she's imagining things. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what Blythe is telling us about her life as well.

Then their son Sam is born and with him, Blythe has the blissful connection she'd always imagined with her child. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth.

The Push is a tour de force you will read in a sitting, an utterly immersive novel that will challenge everything you think you know about motherhood, about what we owe our children, and what it feels like when women are not believed.

*A Most Anticipated Book of the Year by *Entertainment Weekly, Marie Claire, AARP, CrimeReads, Lit Hub, and *Newsweek

As seen in The *Washington Post, USA Today, Good Housekeeping, goop, Refinery29, Woman’s Day, Working Mother, New York Post, and more

Praise for The Push:

“[A] deft and immersive thriller… The Push is an ingenious reincarnation of that most forbidden of suspense narratives: the mommy-in-peril-from-her-own-monstrous-offspring.”
— Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post

“There are enough novels about unreliable female narrators and neglectful mothers to fill a minivan… But what makes [*The Push] stand out from the rest is Audrain’s nuanced understanding of how women’s voices are discounted, how a thousand little slights can curdle a solid marriage and—in defiance of maternal taboos—how mothers really feel, sometimes, toward difficult children.”*
— *Los Angeles Times

“What happens when a mother doesn’t love her daughter? Audrain’s debut is a tense, chilling dip into the dark side of motherhood, narrated by Blythe, whose own upbringing raises the question: Can one inherit an inability to parent? The Push is uncomfortable and provocative, like a train wreck that demands your gaze.”
— *The Washington Post

*“This taut and tense hurricane of a debut is best devoured in one sitting.”
— *Newsweek

*“Fans of psychological thrillers, crack open this one about the relationship between mothers and daughters.”
— *Good Housekeeping

“A chilling page-turner that asks provocative questions.” 
— *Real Simple
“A thrilling debut.” 
— Harper’s Bazaar

“Well thought out, carefully crafted, vividly realised and gripping... *The Push *turbo-charges maternal anxieties with a fierce gothic energy.”
— *The Guardian
*
“Taut, chilling….Audrain has a gift for capturing the seemingly small moments that speak volumes about relationships.”
— The New York Times Book Review
 
“Hooks you from the very first page and will have you racing to get to the end.”
— Good Morning America

“A psychological thriller that will make you question everything you know about motherhood.” 
— Bitch

“A chilling psychological look at the dark, uncomfortable parts of motherhood and a provocative page turner.”
— theSkimm

“This book should come with a warning label! The Push … is a buzzy debut novel that packs quite a few punches. With shades of We Need to Talk About Kevin, … this GMA Book Club pick for January is a compulsively readable novel.”
— New York Post

“This is a sterling addition to the burgeoning canon of bad-seed suspense, from an arrestingly original new voice.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Both an absorbing thriller and an intense, profound look at the heartbreaking ways motherhood can go wrong, this is sure to provoke discussion.”*
*— Booklist

“This is a raw, immediate, propulsive, thought-provoking book, with an ending that hits like a sledgehammer. You will be talking about it for a long time.”*
*— BookTrib.com

“[A] dazzling exercise in both economy of language and vividness of expression. Audrain’s grasp of Blythe’s inner life—her fears, her hopes, the details that linger in her mind—is so precise and mature that we get lost in this woman’s often troubling world. That feeling propels the novel forward at a blistering pace, but Audrain doesn’t stop there. The Push announces Audrain as a sophisticated, compelling writer, perfect for fans of thrillers and intimate family dramas alike.” *
— BookPage

“Starkly original and compulsively readable, Ashley Audrain's The Push is a deep dive into the darkest nooks and crannies of motherhood.  Raw, visceral, and often disturbing, this is an intense psychological drama that will be embraced by serious book clubs and fans of Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk about Kevin.”
— Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“The Push was a poetic, propulsive read that set my nerves jangling in both horror and recognition. I read it in one sitting and it stayed with me for days afterwards. Not to be missed.”
— Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone

“With its riveting prose and deep convictions, Ashley Audrain’s The Push had me in its clutches from the first page. Audrain’s astute portrayal of motherhood was unsettling in its insights, yet highly entertaining on the page. Complex, nuanced, and unflinching, I inhaled this debut in one sitting.” 
— Karma Brown, bestselling author of *Recipe for a Perfect Wife
“Intensely absorbing, gripping until the final page, The Push excavates the myths of motherhood, deftly exploring the shape-shifting landscape of parenting, the powerful impact of the past on the present, and the deep unease of our inability to ever fully know even those we hold the closest.”*
— Kim Edwards, #1 *New York Times bestselling author of *The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

*“I read The Push in a single sitting, ignoring my children, my phone, and staying up way too late, unwilling to break the spell cast by Ashley Audrain's bold, gorgeous prose and propulsive plot. In the months since, my mind has returned, again and again, to The Push, which is unlike any other novel I've read. This is a thriller, yes, but one that probes deeply&mdash…