Imagine going on a long retreat to New York’s picturesque Hudson Valley. You’ll stay in a renovated 19th-century mansion, where you’ll be served gourmet meals, take yoga classes and get daily massages.
Not only is the whole thing free, you’re actually getting paid to be there. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, there’s a catch: You’re there for nine months…to provide the ideal baby to someone else.
Welcome to The Farm, a new novel by Joanne Ramos.
At Golden Oaks, a group of women—many of whom are immigrants—are completely isolated from the world. Their every move is monitored by a staff led by Mae, the facility’s ambitious manager. There we meet Jane, a Filipina single mother of an infant, Amalia. After losing her job as a nanny, Jane has no choice but to take a job as a ‘Host’ (a fancy word for a surrogate) at Golden Oaks.