Set against the backdrop of a small-town Wisconsin NICU, a sweeping story of parenthood, family, and redemption

After a decade of miscarriages, Brooke Jensen is finally pregnant—with quadruplets. When she goes into labor after twenty-three weeks, Brooke and her husband rush to the hospital in the small town of Hanover, Wisconsin. For the 203 days that follow, they’re plunged into the terrifying and mysterious netherworld of the neonatal intensive care unit.

As the babies grow and struggle, fall turns to stark upper-Midwest winter. Brooke bonds with Dash, a senior nurse whose son, Landon, had been a patient in the NICU years earlier and is now straining his parents’ abilities to care for him. Both families bend and edge closer to breaking, and the questions mount: What does love look like? What does it mean to save a life?

A fiercely honest portrait of American parenthood, the American healthcare system, and Rust Belt communities, Everything We Could Do lays bare the ways that families are formed and remade in times of crisis.

About the Author: David McGlynn is the author of the novel, Everything We Could Do. His previous books include One Day You'll Thank Me: Lessons from an Unexpected Fatherhood,  A Door in the Ocean, and The End of the Straight and Narrow. His writing appears in The New York Times, Washington Post, The American Scholar, Men's Health, Real Simple, Parents, O., The Oprah Magazine, Best American Sports Writing, and numerous literary journals. Four of his essays have been named Distinguished Essays in Best American Essays and Best American Non-Required Reading. He's appeared on radio and TV programs around the country and his work has been reviewed on National Public Radio's Fresh Air. In addition to his books, David's a columnist for and frequent contributor to Swimmer magazine. Another novel, Liberal Arts, will appear in 2026, followed by the nonfiction book, The Channel: The History, Science, and Insanity of the World's Most Famous Swim, in 2028. He teaches at Lawrence University and lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

Livestream: David McGlynn in Conversation with Laura Bird