Wait Here

By: Lucy Nelson

Narrated by: Kellie Jones

A dazzling collection of hilarious and heart-wrenching stories united by a groundbreaking theme: each is a sidelong glance at the lives of women who – either by choice or by circumstance – will never be mothers and who feel every way it is possible to feel about it.

A dancer discovers she can never have children – a revelation that pales in comparison to the other ways her body has betrayed her. Two elderly sisters who’ve been inseparable throughout life make a momentous decision. A wet nurse at Coney Island’s infamous ‘Incubator Babies’ sideshow is haunted by the ghost of her own stillborn daughter. A young woman worries about the lack of male role models in her little niece’s life…

For the women in Wait Here, who can’t, don’t or won’t have children, childlessness is a hard-won prize, a freedom, a stain, a joy, a battle, a trifle, a conundrum, a wound, an uneasy comfort on a burning planet.

It is nothing. It is everything.

Critic reviews

'A striking reflection on women’s lives in all their beautiful complexity … Funny and heart-wrenching, this collection will stick with you.’

‘I loved everything about this funny, touching, big-hearted, moving collection . . . Beneath/alongside/supported by the beautiful writing and Nelson’s lightness of touch is a subtle and original exploration of a vast subject: on not being a mother.’ (Lucy Treloar, author of Days of Innocence and Wonder)

‘The stories in Lucy Nelson’s Wait Here explode received ideas about women and childlessness. Her characters experience not only loss, grief and regret, but also states less easily associated with not becoming a mother: joy, liberty, rage, relief. The stories are composed with such ease and frankness that their moments of grace – and there are many – catch the reader unawares. I loved the warmth of these stories, and I loved their grit too.’ (Chloe Wilson, author of Hold Your Fire)

‘In Wait Here, each tender glimpse into the lives of women without children aches with immense insight. A deeply compassionate collection where every story feels like a gift.’ (Emily O’Grady, author of Feast)

‘Lucy Nelson’s debut collection Wait Here is a triumph. These stories are blazing and tender, Nelson’s prose honed
to pierce the heart. I loved all of these women and their choices, their disappointments, their torments and joys.’ (Kate Mildenhall, author of The Hummingbird Effect)

‘Lucy Nelson strips away the myths and banalities surrounding motherhood and childlessness, revealing the complex and rich inner lives of women – all seekers: for connection, for understanding, for love, for respite, or escape. There is fluidity and empathy in the writing, so much playfulness, so many epiphanies. Nelson is an arresting new voice in Australian women’s literature. Watch this space.’ (Sian Prior, author of Childless: A Story of Freedom and Longing)

‘There are startling and beautiful worlds in this book. Lucy Nelson has a rare ability to evoke lives and dreams in this unique collection of stories about women who are not mothers. Vivid, wry, tender and haunting.’ (Heather Rose, author of The Museum of Modern Love)

'A striking reflection on women’s lives in all their beautiful complexity … Funny and heart-wrenching, this collection will stick with you.’

‘I loved everything about this funny, touching, big-hearted, moving collection . . . Beneath/alongside/supported by the beautiful writing and Nelson’s lightness of touch is a subtle and original exploration of a vast subject: on not being a mother.’ (Lucy Treloar, author of Days of Innocence and Wonder)