LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER is a wonderful story of three very strong women. This multi-generational story begins in Detroit, Michigan in the 1960s. I started this one morning, thinking I would read a few chapters and then do what needed to be done at home. Well, that didn’t happen and I was finished with this beautiful story in a few hours. It is crazy good and I could not put it down. I have never read Susan Rieger before but I’m excited to find her previous books and devour them as I devoured this one.
LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER shows you three generations of women - Zelda, who is the grandmother and who disappeared from her family. Lila who never learned how to be a mother for obvious reasons. She throws herself into her work and leaves the child-rearing to her husband. Lila was abandoned by her mother, Zelda, who was put into an institution when Lila was a young child. Lila is left in the care of her abusive father and grandmother. Grace is Lila's daughter and she just wants to understand her mother and why she is the way she is. Talk about family drama!
LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER is such a heart-tugging story. Susan Rieger held my heart in her hands from the very first page and never let it go. I loved how she made me want to pack my bags and go and find these women and just hug them. I can’t wait to read more from this fabulous author. If you like stories rich in family drama, you will love LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER. This story does contain quite a bit of left-leaning politics. Some might consider that a trigger, especially being that this is an election year. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Fresh Fiction. All opinions expressed are my own and were voluntarily given.
An enthralling novel about three generations of strong-willed women, unknowingly shaped by the secrets buried in their family’s past.
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.
© 2003-2026