I was very drawn into this book the beginning was very engaging, but didn’t feel like the ending was a good enough payoff!

This is the first book I have read from this author and I was pleasantly surprised. It is a character study of different roles played by women to other women and in regard to their relationships. In this book, there is brokenness of women and manipulation and so many other things going on that are complex and vulnerable. I really liked the style of the writing, however would have seen some editing. I think that some of the book began to feel repetitive. I definitely want to read more from this author. She has a great voice. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Though I definitely enjoyed this more than Girls on Fire, I think Wasserman’s books might just not be for me. There were parts of this book that were incredibly insightful, heartbreaking, and relatable, but equally just as many that were frustrating and that seemed to meander a bit. Overall, I’m glad I ended up reading this and appreciate what she was trying to do with it.

This book was deeply compelling but I found it a little too slow-paced for my liking. The premise was fascinating and excellent, but I found it difficult to want to pick it up when I put it down. The examination of women's lives both before, during and after one (obviously toxic) man came into their lives was what kept me motivated to finish.

If you are jumping into this one because, come on, this is the author of GIRLS ON FIRE, caution yourself. This one had me wondering where it was going a few times. I wish I entered this one with a different mindset

Thank you so much to @Scribner & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 07 July 2020)

SYNOPSIS | Wendy Doe has lost her memory & is being observed at the Meadowlark institute. Lizzy works at this institute & has been put on Wendy's case. Several years later, Alice finds Lizzy and is looking for answers into her mothers disappearance.

WHAT I LIKED:
- the premise of the story is so intriguing & I liked the philosophical debate around reducing humans to their most basic labels "mother", "daughter", "widow", "wife" etc

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- the ending was extremely unsatisfying
- the balance of characters didn't feel right (some where in the story way too much & some who were more interesting were hardly in it at all)
- because the story switched between multiple POVs & timelines it was quire difficult to follow
- this book is absolutely not a thriller

Three women in a book that gives four female roles in its title: Mother Daughter Widow Wife. Three POVs, or is it four (if you count Lizzie and Elizabeth as two separate POVs).

People with amnesia, such as Wendy Doe, are confused. This leads to confusion on the part of the reader. (me). I’m simply not intelligent enough to understand the book and plot even though I majored in psychology.

Thanks to Netgalley and Will Byrnes (a Goodreads reviewer) for the privilege of reading. Byrnes did a superb job of explaining the book.

The premise is interesting but the main character is fairly unlikable and the story is hard to follow, at times.

Special thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion..

Although I like this author's other work, I wasn't quite sure how to take this book. I am not embarrassed to say that I either wasn't smart enough to grasp this book, but I also felt there were a lot of unanswered questions for me. I'm not sure if I was daydreaming while reading, or just plain confused. Sure, some of the book was interesting and readable...definitely. I did enjoy the mother/daughter relationship and also learned a lot about amnesia and being in a "fugue" state, but it was a very slow book for me. Several times, I wanted to put it down, but feared I would not pick it up again.

This a book about losing yourself and rediscovery. I recommend it to people who have an interest in amnesia and patience, and oh yes, who are ntelligent enough to follow.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this book. While this title is no longer within the realm of my current reading interests I appreciate the opportunity in receiving an ARC.

DNF - did not finish. I checked this one out and did not connect with the writing style/plot. Thank you, NetGalley and publisher for the early copy.

I wanted to love this book but I just wasn't able to really get into it or connect with characters. I made it a little more than half way through before I decide DNF it. I continued to see promise in it but it just didn't hold my attention like I needed it to.

MOTHER DAUGHTER WIDOW WIFE is riveting. A high point of my 2020 reads, I had difficulty putting this book down.

This thought-provoking book was written in beautiful prose. The flawed and unlikable characters pulled me and held me captive as I got lost in this book.

I love the twisted mind of Robin Wasserman, she is 100% an auto buy author for me. This novel explores amnesia and identity in a way that makes you stop and think. While it did drag in parts I would still strongly recommend this though Girls on Fire is way stronger in my opinion.

I'm not entirely sure I'm smart enough for this book. I enjoyed parts of it, but others left me scratching my head, not fully absorbing what the author was doing. This is my first of Wasserman's so I didn't know what to expect, and the pace was slower than I was hoping. If you liked her previous one this might work better for you.

Having been a huge fan of Robin Wasserman's Girls on Fire, which was my favorite book of 2016, I'd been patiently waiting for her follow up. Although I didn't love this one the way I did Girls on Fire, I thought the concept of a woman with amnesia who is the subject of a study on memory was interesting. Will see what the author comes up with next.

Mother Daughter Widow Wife was a great read by Robin Wasserman. Wendy Doe was found on a bus to Philadelphia. She has no money, no ID, and no memory. She was assigned a name from the state and diagnosed with Dissociative fugue. She goes with Dr. Strauss to Meadowlark Institute for Memory Research for an experimental observation. Dr. Strauss’ student Lizzie becomes fascinated by Wendy Doe. Alice is the daughter that she left behind inadvertently. This was a good read by the author.

Wasserman does an excellent job exploring different scientific topics throughout the book and I don't want to say that Mother Daughter Widow Wife is a bad book, its just hard to follow sometimes. I found myself skimming and wondering if I even wanted to finish. There was just a lot going on. I think this is only going to work for a limited number of readers.

I would still recommend to readers even though it was not something that worked for me or something I would reread. I will continue to pick up Robins work!

3.4 stars rounded down to 3.*

This is the first book by Robin Wasserman that I have read. I have to confess I requested it because I initially confused the title with another book I was keen on reading.

I realized pretty quickly this was not the book, but the premise was so intriguing that I kept at at.

Mother Daughter Widow Wife is an intricately woven story of the interconnected lives of 4 women, 5 if you count both of Karen's distinct personalities. It is told with alternating narration. The premise is that a woman, Named Wendy Doe by her doctors, has been discovered with no memory or sense of identity. She is young, and white and clearly from some degree of privilege. She has been brought to the Meadowlark Institute by Dr. Benjamin Strauss, a renowned doctor who is running THE prestigious memory research center in the US. Dr. Strauss has a number of new fellowes, one of whom is Lizzie Epstein, who takes on Wendy's case as her sole project during her fellowship with Dr. Strauss. While Lizzie becomes wrapped up in trying to decode Wendy's memory and life, she also becomes embroiled in an affair with the married genius, Strauss. Simultaneously, we are following Alice, an 18-year-old whose mother has just disappeared...when she learns that it is not the first time.

Alice, Lizzie, Karen/Wendy, and supporting but strong characters Nina and Gwen form a cast of interesting, flawed, and ultimately believable women.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it, although the twist did not surprise me at all.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.