Small Great Things

Ruth Jefferson is a seasoned African-American labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital. When a white supremacist father, Turk Bauer, demands that she not touch his newborn son, the hospital complies. The next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone with him in the nursery. She hesitates before intervening due to the order, and the baby subsequently dies. Ruth is charged with a serious crime, and her case is taken by Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender who advises against making race a central issue in the courtroom. Told from the perspectives of Ruth, Turk, and Kennedy, the novel explores themes of racism, white privilege, prejudice, and justice as the high-profile legal battle unfolds.

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