Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Being a housewife is not the easy job everyone assumes. There’s the cleaning, the shopping, the dinner cooking, and the child rearing. Plus you’re expected to be the epitome of arm candy at all your husband’s professional events. Lulu has always struggled to keep the tight schedule the other wives on her street have followed, especially now that she’s just had her second child. She struggled with depression after her first, and the doctor thinks she is now, too. The medication makes her feel off, but when the new neighbor across the street offers a different and more permanent solution, Lulu isn’t sure how to convince her husband she’s not The Mad Wife.
Meagan Church is back with her third novel – a historical fiction exploring the challenges of mental health and motherhood in the 1950’s. Church, a best-selling author, is known for her stories that tug at your heartstrings and have you looking at the world with a bit of a different view. The Mad Wife is a novel that will connect with readers across all demographics and have you begging for more time with these characters. Female friendship, health challenges, and suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat will leave you in awe of the story!
Spoiler Alert: if you would like to skip ahead and avoid the spoilers, click here.
I give The Mad Wife 4 out of 5 stars. Granted – it’s a very high 4-star rating. I had trouble getting into this book at first, but the second half of the book was outstanding! As soon as I finished this book, I posted a Thread about how I felt seen and understood because of how amazing this book is. I felt a particular connection to this story after the final chapters because of my own experience during my first pregnancy. 20 years ago, I suffered with mental and physical health challenges the doctors couldn’t explain during my pregnancy except to say I was having a mental breakdown. Two years later, I would be diagnosed with Lupus and a lifetime of challenges would suddenly feel understood. Exhaustion which led to depression along with other sensory and organ challenges would be easily explained under this new blanket diagnosis. But in the meantime, a stay in a modern mental health facility and multiple medications to help make me “less hysterical” made me feel as though I had to pretend and comply or suffer additional punishments. Seeing Lulu go through these exact struggles was hard for me to read and made me very uncomfortable. But I hope that is exactly how readers feel – uncomfortable and ready to challenge our current state of mental healthcare.
Skip here if you are avoiding spoilers!
I was excited to get a copy of this novel through NetGalley. I loved the cover and title, but the description sold me on this. If you enjoyed Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox or The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick, you will love this book!
The Mad Wife will release September 30th. You can pre-order your copy today on our Bookshop.org page!
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: Tom Clancy Terminal Velocity, M.P. Woodward
- Current audio book: Velvet Was the Night, Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Fire Season, Phillip Connors
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