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The Mother Act
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Beth Hicks, Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
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Summary
Set against the sparkling backdrop of the theater world, this propulsive debut follows the relationship between an actress who refuses to abandon her career and the daughter she chooses to abandon instead.
Sadie Jones, a larger-than-life actress and controversial feminist, never wanted to be a mother. No one feels this more deeply than Jude, the daughter Sadie left behind. While Jude spent her childhood touring with her father’s Shakespearian theater company, desperate for validation from the mother she barely knew, Sadie catapulted to fame on the wings of The Mother Act—a scathing one-woman show about motherhood.
Two decades later, Jude is a talented actress in her own right, and her fraught relationship with Sadie has come to a scandalous head. On a December evening in New York City, at the packed premiere of Sadie’s latest play, the two come face-to-face and the intertwined stories of their lives unfold—colorfully and dramatically. What emerges is a picture of two very different women navigating the complicated worlds of career, love, and family, all while grappling with the essential question: can they ever really understand each other?
Compelling, insightful, and cleverly conveyed as a play in six acts, The Mother Act is a stylish work that looks at what it means to be a devoted mother and a devoted artist—and whether it is possible to be both.
Critic reviews
"Reimer debuts with a propulsive and affecting mother-daughter story set in New York City’s theater world.... Reimer’s insights on art, feminism, and motherhood add to the intrigue. This is worthy of a standing ovation."—Publishers Weekly (starred)
"Readers who are in the acting world will rejoice at Reimer’s hyperspecific theater references (no notes on opening night!), and all readers will get lost in Reimer’s gift for writing heart-wrenching, multidimensional relationships. An affecting story about love, abandonment, and the murky middle between them."—Kirkus
“The Mother Act is a poignant reflection on the challenges women face in balancing ambition and family in a world that often demands they choose between the two.”—Booklist