BOOKS
The Growing Season
Left: UK hardback cover, right: UK paperback cover
What if anyone could grow a baby?
With FullLife’s safe and affordable healthcare plan, why risk natural birth? Just choose the colour of your pouch and its accessories.
Without the pouch, Eva might not have been born. And yet she has sacrificed her career, and maybe even her relationship, campaigning against FullLife’s biotech baby pouches. Despite her effort, everyone prefers a world where women are liberated from danger and constraint and all can share the joy of childbearing. Perhaps FullLife has helped transform society for the best? But just as Eva decides to accept this, she discovers that something strange is happening at FullLife.
Piotr hasn’t seen Eva in years. Not since their life together dissolved in tragedy. But Piotr’s a journalist who has also uncovered something sinister about FullLife. What drove him and Eva apart may just bring them back together, as they search for the truth behind FullLife’s closed doors, and face a truth of their own.
Reviews & Press
“Sedgwick keeps us in a suspenseful state of discomfort… The Growing Season poses a compelling what-if about the female body, technology and power.” ~ The Guardian
“The Growing Season imagines the end of women’s exclusive power to bear children, and articulates the resulting senses of loss and gain around the issue that feminists have been struggling with for generations; to what extent is biology destiny and to what extent should we seek to disentangle ourselves from our biological imperatives?” ~ The TLS
“The Growing Season is an outstanding example of SF feminism, as it contributes to unblocking our view by giving voice to the many feminisms present in current society without privileging one perspective over the others. The novel manages to represent existing tensions and, most importantly, fosters further dialogue about gender equality, pregnancy and motherhood” ~ Ectogenesis and Representations of Future Motherings in Helen Sedgwick’s The Growing Season, Atlantis Vol 43: 1 (2021)
“Since ‘The Growing Season’ was published in 2017, some striking developments have been made in reproductive technology… these innovations and the ethical concerns surrounding them certainly imply a trajectory not so dissimilar to that of FullLife and its baby pouch. Consequently, as our own reality draws closer to that of Sedgwick’s speculations, the need for preemptive legislative, social and cultural change becomes ever-more pressing.” ~ Cherwell
“You know when you read the back of a book and your neck hairs go all tingly? This is one of them… an inventive tale that’ll leave you contemplating what the future holds.” ~ Stylist
“Sedgwick, a former biophysicist, handles the ethics and possibility of new fertility technology admirably, cementing her reputation as one of the most important new writers around.” ~ Diva
“It is a world many women have dreamed of, one where pregnancy is no longer solely the responsibility of the female… Helen Sedgwick’s intriguing second novel after her acclaimed The Comet Seekers, looks at how such a scientific breakthrough impacts on society… An intriguing, eye-opening and potentially worrying glimpse into an alternative societal path.” ~ Scotland On Sunday
“Sedgwick describes her off-kilter world brilliantly and she considers the big ideas in her novel from all sides like a true scientist… It’s smart and thoughtful writing – a novel to make you consider deeply what family means and what the not-too-distant future might hold.” ~ Big Issue
“Artificial wombs could soon be a reality. What will this mean for women?” Article by Helen Sedgwick ~ The Guardian
“An elegant and ingenious narrative, told with skill and sensitivity.” Meg Howrey, author of The Wanderers
“So enjoyed The Growing Season… Galloped my way to the conclusion, despite wishing it would never end. Smart & provocative.” Carys Bray, author of The Museum Of You
“Sedgwick successfully navigates the complex and multifaceted intricacies of The Growing Season by refusing to sensationalize the characters and events of her story… Replete with human efforts and error, The Growing Season beautifully captures a paradoxical but fundamental truth: the knowledge that perfection is unattainable does not diminish the worthiness of its pursuit.” Aoife Lyall
“Sedgwick asks questions prevalent within today’s society regarding reproduction, feminism and what it means to be individual… beautifully written and incredibly thought-proving.” Book Snail Reads
“Part thriller, part dystopian fiction, The Growing Season takes a fascinating “what if” question and really runs with it.” Running in Heels
“I adored ex-physicist Sedgwick’s dazzling debut literary novel, The Comet Seekers, a critically-acclaimed, super-smart love story that’s anchored in an Antarctic scientific research centre but spans centuries and multiple locations. Her new one is just as brainy and ambitious… Clever stuff.” Kerry Potter, Muddy Stilettos