Our Secret Daughter
A Heartbreaking Family Drama Full of Lies, Secrets and Betrayal
by Amos Loewidt
- Literary Fiction
- Family Drama
- Contemporary Fiction
- Psychology Drama
The Book
It took only one doorbell ring to turn married couple Erez and Sigal’s life upside down. Sigal did not expect Sylvie, the neighbor’s caregiver, holding a baby. And she definitely did not expect to hear one little sentence: “This is Aya, Erez’s baby.”
While Erez swears it was just a one-night stand, Sigal cannot bear the ultimate betrayal and leaves him to handle the mess. Left on his own, Erez helps Sylvie raise Aya until one day Sylvie disappears, leaving behind one request: that Aya know she is her mother. When Sigal meets Aya by chance, she is instantly drawn to the sweet girl. Over time the two develop a strong bond, and Sigal feels ready to reconcile with Erez and raise Aya as their daughter, under one condition: Aya can never know who her real mother is. Afraid to lose Sigal again, Erez agrees.
Yet as Sylvie desperately tries to reconnect with Aya from Ukraine, and Aya grows into a teenager who senses that something in her story does not add up, Erez knows the secret will not stay buried for long. He will do anything to save his marriage, but can he keep lying to his daughter? Spanning fifteen years of family life in Tel Aviv and Herzliya, with moments of escape aboard the yacht Hera on the Mediterranean, Our Secret Daughter is a story of moral dilemma, maternal bonds, and the price of silence.
Why This Book Matters
Our Secret Daughter asks a question every parent recognizes: what is the price of a lie told in the name of love? It sits at the meeting point of commercial book-club fiction and literary psychological drama, built around a moral dilemma with no clean answer and characters readers judge and sympathize with at the same time.
Beneath the domestic drama runs a timely, global story: the “invisible” migrant caregivers who look after our elderly, the class divide between a wealthy adoptive mother and a disenfranchised biological one, and the clash between legal and emotional definitions of family. The Israeli setting gives the book a fresh backdrop, while its themes travel easily to any market.
Told in an intimate, confession-like first person from the father’s point of view, a perspective rarely given center stage in family dramas, the novel builds steadily toward the inevitable collapse of the secret and an emotionally cathartic ending. Its maritime scenes, drawn from the author’s own sailing experience, add atmosphere and a distinctive metaphorical layer.
About the Book
Genre: Family Drama / Contemporary Fiction / Psychological Drama
Published on January 22, 2025 | 85,400 Words
For readers of The Light Between Oceans, Little Fires Everywhere, and The Kite Runner, Our Secret Daughter is an emotionally gripping family drama about a secret that holds a family together and threatens to tear it apart.
Author
Amos Loewidt
Amos Loewidt is a debut author based in Israel. Family relationships are the main theme of his writing, and readers describe his stories as “appealing and intriguing.” Alongside his love for writing, Amos enjoys facing the forces of nature on sea voyages and explorations, which is why boats and maritime experiences are part of most of his stories, serving as both atmosphere and metaphor for his characters’ emotional turbulence.
His debut novel draws on a deep understanding of complex family dynamics and moral ambiguity, creating characters who face impossible choices with no clear right answers. His familiarity with Israeli society brings authentic insight into the meeting point of immigrant communities, legal systems, and the invisible workforce that supports modern urban life, while his personal sailing experience lends technical authenticity to the novel’s scenes at sea.
Rights Status
Publishing Rights Available
Translation Rights Available
Film Rights Available
Audio Rights Available
Comparable Titles
This book is suitable for readers who enjoyed:
- The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
BISAC Categories
- FIC045000 – FICTION / Family Life / General
- FIC045010 – FICTION / Family Life / Marriage & Divorce
- FIC025000 – FICTION / Psychological
- FIC019000 – FICTION / Literary
Themes
- The Moral Cost of Deception
- Secrets, Lies, and the Price of Silence
- Biological, Adoptive, and Chosen Motherhood
- Fatherhood, Guilt, and Inherited Wounds
- Identity and an Erased Past
- Migrant Caregivers and the Invisible Workforce
- Marriage, Betrayal, and Reconciliation
- Truth vs. Protection in Raising a Child
Keywords
For readers interested in:
- Emotional family dramas and book-club fiction
- Stories of secrets and lies within a family
- Motherhood, adoption, and the meaning of family
- Morally complex characters and ethical dilemmas
- Father–daughter relationships
- Immigration and migrant workers
- Contemporary fiction set in Israel
- Stories with a maritime backdrop
FAQ
What is the book about?
A married couple raises the husband’s daughter from a one-night stand as their own, on one condition: she must never know who her real mother is. Fifteen years later, the secret begins to unravel.
Where and when does the story take place?
In contemporary Tel Aviv and Herzliya, over fifteen years, with scenes at sea on the Mediterranean.
Whose point of view is it told from?
The novel is told in the first person by Erez, the father.
Has this book been published before?
Yes, on January 22, 2025.
Who will enjoy this book?
Book clubs and readers of emotional family dramas, fans of M.L. Stedman, Celeste Ng, Kate Hewitt, Emma Robinson, and Alison Ragsdale, and readers drawn to stories about motherhood, adoption, and morally complex choices.
Rights Agent's Notes
Our Secret Daughter belongs to one of the most dependable categories in commercial fiction: the emotional family drama built around a secret and a moral dilemma. Readers of M.L. Stedman and Celeste Ng, and the large audience for authors such as Kate Hewitt, Emma Robinson, and Alison Ragsdale, keep this category strong across markets.
What sets the book apart is its timely backdrop of migrant caregivers, international adoption, and the clash between legal and emotional definitions of family, together with a rarely heard voice in the genre: the father’s. Its book-club appeal, universal themes, and fresh Israeli setting make it well suited to publishers looking for discussion-worthy family fiction.