Title: Raising Dawn
Author: Diana Richmond
Publisher: Diana Richmond
ISBN: 1956161287
Pages: 208
Genre: Law / Family
Reviewed by: Liz Konkel

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Karen has always wanted a child but the struggle to conceive nearly made her dream impossible until her sister Patty gives her the opportunity of a lifetime by donating one of her ova. Now Karen has the chance to have a child of her own. Dawn’s birth is a short-lived joy as the two sisters soon come toe-to-toe in a fight for custody, and take matters to court for who could provide a better home environment. Patty doesn’t trust her unconventional sister to give Dawn the best home and believes her suburban life with her husband and kids would be the better option. Karen thinks her sister will hinder Dawn’s spitfire attitude and this conflict continues to grow until the two cause a rift in the family that may not be repairable.

The story opens with the two sisters in a happy and laughing moment which sets up a wholesome and sweet family dynamic between them. Author Diana Richmond creates an intriguing juxtaposition in tone as it slowly shifts from this happy moment to the eventual legal battle between them. The opening is an important way to set the story about these two sisters because it shows the love between them. Family issues are honestly portrayed with a heartbreaking realness that grows as the tension is slowly upped. Richmond carefully weaves the tension into the writing with specific word choices like how Karen used to be grateful to Patty every day, using specific past tense to highlight the subtext. The legal issues between the sisters causes an upheaval within the family but the familial issues were already underlying with their mother having Alzheimer’s and indicators that issues were there prior to now.

Dawn is at the center of the story and of the fight between sisters but the focus is primarily on three specific women who are fighting for this child. The first-person narration weaves between Karen and Analee the attorney which gives two personal perspectives and provides an emotionally charged essence to the writing. The differences between the two sisters are repeatedly focused on as their vastly different personalities and struggles are what cause them to clash. Karen sees her sister as someone that casts light on any group, while seeing herself as someone that recedes into any available background which are two traits that Richmond incorporates throughout the story. You see the joy in the beginning but the story weaves through Karen’s journey by delving into the reality of her struggles as a mom who has a history with drugs and depression. Each sister’s wishes for Dawn come from a place of genuine love that just happens to clash which highlights the reality of custody battles, familial conflicts, and the best we want for our children.

Analee ends up in the middle of this fight over guardianship and through her perspective, you see a softer image of Karen as a mother that just wants her child back and hurts at the fight transpiring with her sister. The relationship between them is a lovely friendship that shows the power of compassion, love, and understanding through a woman whose job it is to do in the best interest of the child involved. Richmond cleverly uses Analee as a way to view this custody battle from the outside. Real, honest, and genuine, Raising Dawn is about two sisters and the child they both love in a journey about family, forgiveness, and struggle with a hopefulness underneath it all that makes this story so heartfelt.