Like Mother, Like Mother -- Susan Rieger, Hardcover

An enthralling novel about three generations of strong-willed women, unknowingly shaped by the secrets buried in their family's past.

"A novel in the spirit of Meg Wolitzer, Jean Hanff Korelitz, and the great Nora Ephron. Who says comedy is dead? It's all here--the joyful craziness, the wisecracking newswoman, the family secrets with a twist of lime."--Allegra Goodman, bestselling author of Sam

Detroit, 1960. Lila Pereira is two years old when her angry, abusive father has her mother committed to an asylum. Lila never sees her mother again. Three decades later, having mustered everything she has--brains, charm, talent, blond hair--Lila rises to the pinnacle of American media as the powerful, brilliant executive editor of The Washington Globe. Lila unapologetically prioritizes her career, leaving the rearing of her daughters to her generous husband, Joe. He doesn't mind--until he does.

But Grace, their youngest daughter, feels abandoned. She wishes her mother would attend PTA meetings, not White House correspondents' dinners. As she grows up, she cannot shake her resentment. She wants out from under Lila's shadow, yet the more she resists, the more Lila seems to shape her life. Grace becomes a successful reporter, even publishing a bestselling book about her mother. In the process of writing it, she realizes how little she knows about her own family. Did Lila's mother, Grace's grandmother, die in that asylum? Is refusal to look back the only way to create a future? How can you ever be yourself, Grace wonders, if you don't know where you came from?

Spanning generations, and populated by complex, unforgettable characters, Like Mother, Like Mother is an exhilarating, portrait of family, marriage, ambition, power, the stories we inherit, and the lies we tell to become the people we believe we're meant to be.

Author: Susan Rieger
Publisher: Dial Press
Published: 10/29/2024
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780525512493

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 05/01/2024 pg. 2

About the Author
Susan Rieger is a graduate of Columbia Law School. She has worked as a residential college dean at Yale and an associate provost at Columbia. She has taught law to undergraduates at both schools and written frequently about the law for newspapers and magazines, and is the author of The Divorce Papers and The Heirs. She lives in New York City with her husband.