Zachary's Cry

By Michael D Chalk

Long-listed for BookViral's 2025 Millennium Award

A frightened young nursing student conceals an unwanted pregnancy and gives birth alone in a locked bathroom on her family's farm. Her premature baby survives - but with profound brain injuries.

When rural GP Dr Clive Cloete, recently arrived from Zimbabwe, responds to the emergency call, he follows established medical protocols after being refused entry to the locked bathroom. Police clear him. Life moves on.

Or so it seems.

The child - Zachary - is placed into State care until Anne and Ian Prince-Smith open their home and hearts. Through years of devotion, sacrifice, and quiet determination, they help him achieve far more than anyone expected.

But as Zachary grows, questions that should have remained buried begin to surface.

Years later, Zachary becomes the centre of a $23.5 million medical negligence claim. Not brought by those who know and love him best, but by others with very different agendas. Suddenly Clive's career, reputation, and future stand on the edge of ruin.

As old decisions are examined and painful truths emerge, nobody escapes the deeper question:

When a single irreversible moment changes a life forever - who should bear responsibility?

Zachary's Cry is a powerful and emotionally resonant novel about trauma, compassion, accountability, and redemption - and about the extraordinary love that can still flourish after tragedy.

Perfect for readers of Jodi Picoult and emotionally powerful contemporary fiction that explores difficult moral questions.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0645846457
• ISBN13: 9780645846454
• Release Date: July 2025
• Publisher: Michael Chalk Author and Publisher
• Length: 338 Pages
• Weight: 1.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"