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Vivian's Decision: A Novel by

Della Leavitt

Chicago. 1956.

One overwhelmed mother.

Four young children.

Seven days to make an impossible decision.

A multi-generational, Jewish family saga about a 1956 woman aching to claim an identity beyond wife and mother.  Chicagoan Della Leavitt credits the vibrant Chicago-area writing community, the Off Campus Writers' Workshop (OCWW) and the Women's Fiction Writers Association (WFWA), a Newberry Library fellowship, and City of Chicago grant to support publication of her debut novel.

Praise for Vivian's Decision: A Novel

Vivian's Decision is singular . . . Leavitt creates a mix of intriguing characters fleshed out through their interactions with each other, the novel’s flashbacks and spot-on dialogue. The result is a carefully researched and well-written historical novel with renewed relevance that contemporary readers across genres will value.

The BookLife Prize

Debut novelist Leavitt shoots straight for the heart with this pitch-perfect historical fiction.

BookLife Review, May, 2026 "Editor's Pick"

dellaleavitt.com (c) 2026

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