Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
On a hot July night on Cape Cod when Adrienne was fourteen, her mother, Malabar, woke her at midnight with five simple words that would set the course of both of their lives for years to come. A daughter's tale of living in the thrall of her magnetic, complicated mother, and the chilling consequences of her complicity.
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Wild Game by Adrienne Brodeur
234 pages
What’s it about?
Adrienne Brodeur is just fourteen when her mother, Malabar, wakes her in the middle of the night to tell her she has kissed her husband's best friend. Adrienne immediately becomes her mother's co-conspirator in a torrid love affair that will last years. What happens to a child whose well-being is second to her mothers' desires?
What did it make me think about?
Wow! What is it like to have a charismatic, narcissist as a parent? The harm we can do to children.....
Should I read it?
This book kept popping up my radar, but for some reason I resisted it. Maybe it was the cover? I am so glad I finally gave in and read this one. This memoir is so different than any other I have read. I found it thoroughly engrossing. Malabar was quite something, but it is Adrienne that you grow to admire.
Quote-
"I knew only what pleased my mother; I didn't have a moral compass. It would be years before I understood the forces that shaped who she was and who I became and recognized the hurt that we both caused. What I knew then was that nothing made me feel more loved than making my mother happy, and any means justified that end. Starting when I was fourteen, what made my mother happy was Ben Souther. With that, my lying took a dark turn. Lies of omission became lies of commission. What began as choice turned into habit and became my conscience's muscle memory."
If you liked this try-
Just Kids by Patti Smith
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How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones
Wild Game by Adrienne Brodeur
234 pages
What’s it about?
Adrienne Brodeur is just fourteen when her mother, Malabar, wakes her in the middle of the night to tell her she has kissed her husband's best friend. Adrienne immediately becomes her mother's co-conspirator in a torrid love affair that will last years. What happens to a child whose well-being is second to her mothers' desires?
What did it make me think about?
Wow! What is it like to have a charismatic, narcissist as a parent? The harm we can do to children.....
Should I read it?
This book kept popping up my radar, but for some reason I resisted it. Maybe it was the cover? I am so glad I finally gave in and read this one. This memoir is so different than any other I have read. I found it thoroughly engrossing. Malabar was quite something, but it is Adrienne that you grow to admire.
Quote-
"I knew only what pleased my mother; I didn't have a moral compass. It would be years before I understood the forces that shaped who she was and who I became and recognized the hurt that we both caused. What I knew then was that nothing made me feel more loved than making my mother happy, and any means justified that end. Starting when I was fourteen, what made my mother happy was Ben Souther. With that, my lying took a dark turn. Lies of omission became lies of commission. What began as choice turned into habit and became my conscience's muscle memory."
If you liked this try-
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Out East by John Glynn
How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones
Although the people in this book lived a life very different from mine the overall theme was very relatable. I personally would have enjoyed it more without all the food and hunting references but I do think they were an important element because they really spoke to who those people were and the passions that drove them.
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