The Mother Act - a young woman seeks a relationship with the parent who abandoned her and then wrote a play about it.

Jude Jones-Linnen was raised by her British father Damian, traveling across the U.S. with his Shakespearean theater troupe. Actress Sadie Jones left her daughter and her marriage when Jude was a toddler. Sadie's one-woman play, The Mother Act, put her on the map. It was a shocking, autobiographical account of a woman who didn't want to be a mother. Years later, Jude found a copy of the feminist play and was devastated by it. Sadie eventually re-enters Jude's life on an occasional basis, but the damage has been done. Jude, however, never stops hoping to get close to her mother. Yearning for a true relationship and answers, adult Jude decides to accept her mother's invitation to attend Sadie's off-Broadway performance of a sequel to The Mother Act. The book is told in six acts, and we get the perspectives of both Sadie and Jude throughout the decades. We learn about Sadie's backstory including her hopes and dreams as a teenager. Jude's childhood is heartbreaking - filled with anger and feelings of abandonment leading up to adulthood and her own marriage.  

The complexity of motherhood takes center stage in Heidi Reimer's impressive debut The Mother Act. Filled with angst and frustration, it addresses the basic need everyone has - to be loved by their mother. Is Sadie simply a self-absorbed woman who sacrificed the happiness of her child or was she entitled to pursue her own dreams? Not a light, comfy read but it will surely move you. Added appeal for fans of the theater. 

Rated 4 out of 5 stars.

Contemporary Fiction.

Publication Date: April 30, 2024. 

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