An accomplished psychiatrist. A promising young neuroscientist studying memory and the brain, A mysterious patient with amnesia. Then years later, the daughter of that patient with amnesia is trying learn about her mother.

I've read this author's book's YA before and they are always very cerebral, perhaps a little too much so for me. I wanted to feel more connection with these characters than I did. There are different POVs and different timelines and I just struggled to figure out what was going on and why and answers were slow to come. For whatever reason, this story just wasn't a great fit for me.

Mother Daughter Widow Wife is the first title I've read by Robin Wasserman. Having always had an interest in psychology, I found the description intriguing. What makes someone forget who they are, and what happens to the family the leave behind?

The book is told from many perspectives — Wendy Doe (mother) and Lizzie Epstein in the past, Elizabeth Strauss (widow and wife) and Alice Clark (daughter) in the present. Only Elizabeth's chapters are told in the first person.

The book begins with Wendy describing herself as the research subject, and then we meet Lizzie as she arrives at the Meadowlark and meets the infamous memory scientist Benjamin Strauss. We then immediately come into the present with Alice leaving home on a bus, the same way her mother did. Then we meet Elizabeth, 48 and a widow mourning her husband like she does every Tuesday because Tuesday was the day of the week he died.

First, let's talk about what I like about the book. I like the juxtaposition of past and present. I have read a lot of novels that make the past/present difficult to follow, but because of the way the main characters are split, it is easy to know when the story is taking place. I also appreciate how the author creates a different voice for every character. Each character basically goes on a journey of self-discovery. Even Wendy, who remembers nothing of her past, is determined to design a future until her past comes back to her.

What I don't like, and what knocks the book way down to 2 stars for me, is outlined in the spoilers below.

***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***SPOILERS***

The chapters for Lizzie and Elizabeth (who are actually the same person) sound almost too academic. Understanding that Lizzie is a scientist, a student of Dr. Strauss (who he called Elizabeth and later became his mistress and wife), her chapters are written almost like a textbook. I saw a number of reviews that said the chapters actually made them feel too unintelligent to read the book. I didn't get that feeling, but I do feel like it bogged down the story a lot.

In regard to Alice, she seeks out Elizabeth because her mother has disappeared once again, and she is hoping to find her in Philadelphia, which is where she was found without her memory the first time. It is not revealed until close to the end of the book, but I guessed pretty early on that Alice is Benjamin's daughter. What we find out when the reveal comes is that Lizzie suspected because she found the pregnancy test when Wendy leaves the Meadowlark having regained her memory and gone home. While Alice is living with Elizabeth and starts learning about her mother's time as Wendy Doe, she begins to take on some of the carefree attitudes her mother had, and she seems to completely lose sight of why she went looking for Elizabeth to begin with.

Elizabeth's journey takes her into Benjamin's past after she left her career and became just Benjamin's wife, but I don't feel like we spend enough time here for her to get to the end of the story where she decides to make amends with her best friend who never liked Benjamin to begin with. Gwen tells Lizzie at one point in the story "once a cheater, always a cheater," so we suspect that Lizzie is not the first or the last research student that Benjamin has taken up with. But she is the first one that he marries (after divorcing his wife). The book touches on Elizabeth's search of Benjamin's computer and finding suspicious emails to students but no real evidence. I would have liked to see more detail about that discovery to help see Elizabeth come full circle.

Finally, and this is a big one for me, we never find out what happened to Alice's mother this time. She vanishes from her home, her husband believes she is dead, we never get an explanation of why he believes she's dead and Alice does not, but we never find out where she is in the present day. Alice just suddenly accepts that she is dead and visits her mother's grave. In this journey of self-discovery for Elizabeth and Alice, I want to know what happened to Wendy Doe the second time!

One other thing that knocks this down for me has nothing to do with the plot. It's a couple of "language" issues that stick out. I am not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but I really don't like the C-word. There is one instance of it in the book when Alice is being photographed by a man that she meets when she sneaks into an AA meeting (following in her mother's footsteps). "She let him photograph her, body part by body part, leg ear hand nipple c***." It was extremely unexpected and jarring, and I think the author could have gotten the point across some other way. The other thing that bothered me was the number of F-bombs in this book that don't fit the voice of all of the characters. Not everyone in life uses the F-word, but for some reason, almost every character in this book uses it at least once. Very early on, there were so many instances of it over a couple of pages that I did a search for it and found that there are 92 occurrences in the book. That's once every 3.5 pages or so, and it really doesn't advance the dialog at all. I just find it so unnecessary.

I think this book had the potential to be a 4-star read, but it falls short.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for an advance copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 Stars

This book was okay. The writing was beautiful BUT the book really gets bogged down by clinical discussions and descriptions. The writing was lovely and when I was actively reading about the characters and the plot I really enjoyed it but some of the technical aspects bored me to tears. Wasserman can certainly write and write well but this just wasn't my cup of tea. Maybe I am not as smart as I think I am.

This was a challenging read for me, in part because much of it was mentally disturbing to me and in part due to the scientific nature of the book. For me, the book was an exploration of three individual women and the one man who had a deep influence on each one. It was also a study of the fugue state, of memory and loss of memory. Issues that were delved into included identity and sense of self, power, abuse of power, mother/daughter relationships and trauma. Much of the book takes place at The Meadowlark Institute for Memory Research. This book required my full concentration and although it is fiction, it came across as non-fiction at times. Publication date is 7/7/20. Thank you to NetGalley, Scribner and the author for the complimentary advance e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ⭐️⭐️1/2 out of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #netgalley #motherdaughterwidowwife #scribner #booksandmrdarcy #withhernosestuckinabook❤️📚

Oh man. At times this book was fascinating and too many times, just boring or perhaps more detailed and above my brain's abilities to understand. Somehow I thought the novel would be more about the woman herself who had lost her memory...it only indirectly was. Mostly it explored memory and the brain, and women's lives derailed by following their hearts instead of their brains.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC to read and review.

I was so excited to read this when I read the synopsis but after reading it I am sorry to say that it was very very slow and I don’t like to ever Dnf but I unfortunately Dnfed this one at about 55%. This was very slow and the characters and the writing something about it wasn’t for me. I will read other books by this author if the author has any more

2.5 stars I loved the premise of the book and the themes. The writing wasn't quite there for me though.

The story of a woman Wendy who was once the subject of a memory study, the woman Karen she became, the daughter Alice who is now looking for her and the researcher Lizzie/Elizabeth who once studied and befriended her.
This book has a lot of commentary on women and their many roles in life, alongside mental health, and also a lot of psychological research and terminology. Unfortunately that aspect really bogged down my reading. The academic and excessive flowery language was hard to read and didn't feel authentic to the characters. Speaking of the characters this book was also written with multiple points of view and unfortunately the characters weren't distinct enough. I often had to flip back and check to see who I was supposed to be reading. I was really excited to read this one but unfortunately I feel like it took me too long to read and left me unsatisfied. However I thank NetGalley and Scribner for the free ebook in exchange for these honest thoughts.

Robin Wasserman is a phenomenal writer, and her books will make you feel something. This book will likely cause mix reviews, but it will evoke feelings from the audience. This is more than the story of a woman with amnesia; it's not a simple thriller. It's a thought-provoking exploration of the role of memory in our lives.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

This book was very well written, but it was really slow paced and in the beginning I almost gave up. I do think the author really took the time to study the subject, as someone who has lived through it can see. The characters development and needing to know more about them, is what really kept me reading this story, because the development was so amazing. It’s not one that’s going to grab you from the beginning and make you flip pages like a mad woman/man, but is something that is compelling and intriguing and will leave you pondering for quite some time once you finish. If you like slower paced, character driven reads, this is your book!

First, I think the title and the book cover is quite appealing. So well done. I found the book concept to be very intriguing and I was excited to start it. However I found the story line confusing and I kept thinking to myself "maybe I am not smart enough for this book". Obviously that is not a comfortable feeling so I kept pushing through in hopes that it would make more sense. There are some parts that I became very vested in and those carried me through the parts that made me want to put the book down. In the end, I do not think that I would have finished had it not been for the fact that I was given a pre-release copy to read and review. I believe that the author did excellent research to fit properly in the story that she wanted to craft but I do not think it was wholly successful for me as a reader.

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for my complimentary eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Meh, I was unable to get into this one mostly because I was unable to relate to women in the book so I had to put it down I will try again in the future.

I tried several times to get into this book, I really did. The amnesia storyline was very intriguing, but unfortunately I ended up DNF’ing this one. It was just way too slow paced for me, the story just plodded along in places and I think maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for something so dark and introspective with all that’s going on in the world right now.

This is my first Robin Wasserman. This book has one of my favorite opening chapters of all time. However, because of the synopsis and this opener, I went into the book thinking it would be more psychological mystery leaning, when in reality it was a slow contemporary story about several women. This book was definitely thought provoking in its discussion on women and identities. I loved Wendy's chapters the most but did not find myself connecting with the other involved women, because I got too frustrated with their decisions and actions, which then led to just an unhappy reading experience.

I started reading this book with certain expectations, based on the plot summary, but it turned out to be much different than I had anticipated. The mystery of the true identity of Wendy Doe made me think that this would be somewhat of a thriller/mystery, focusing on finding out who this woman is and why no one is looking for her. However, Wendy Doe's lack of memory turns her into a research subject, with little to no focus on her true past.

This book is very well written, in the literary sense, and the development of the characters over time is evident. The chapters alternate between characters and timelines, contrasting how events have affected various characters and the development of namely, Lizzie/Elizabeth, the main character. Although the writing quality never abated, the pace of the storyline was slow at times. The book delved deeply into many of the characters' pasts and inner dialogues, even the more minor and less interesting ones.

Thank you to Scribner and Netgalley for a chance to read this title early.

A woman is found on a bus who doesn’t know who she is or where she came from. After a hospital stay, “Wendy Doe,” is sent to the Meadowlark Institute so Dr. Benjamin Strauss and his student, Lizzie, can study her memory.

I felt a little betrayed by the description I read before I decided to request this book. The genre is listed as adult fiction. I felt more like I was reading a muddled documentary with many multi-syllable words I didn’t know. I think I know who the Mother and Daughter were in the title – Wendy Doe – and the daughter looking for her. But I’m not totally sure about that.

Confusions reigned supreme for me at every turn – the women’s first name in the titles and no mention of time frames. So I didn’t know if it was backstory or what was going on currently.

A lot of it delved into the fugue state and should have been marketed as nonfiction. I’m unable to recommend this book.

I’m judging a 2020 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

This beginning… whoosh… stunning:

This body is uncoordinated. Its breasts have ghost nipples, pale and undersensitized. Its clitoris is small, but demanding. Its sinuses often hurt. Its eyes sting in the sun. It wants to sleep on its side, wrapped tight around something solid and warm. Its fingers are uncalloused; they do not work for their living. Its nails are ragged, its cuticles bloody. Its teeth are cared for, nutrition maintained.

While I found myself slightly exhausted by this book I think I enjoyed it?? In the beginning there were some parts that felt too slow and I almost lost interest but a ways in it picks up and I was invested. The writing was done well but sometimes I felt like I wasn't smart enough to know what was going on. I liked the different point of views and timelines that the story was told through. There were some questions that I felt should have been answered that weren't and that contributes to it getting a 3 instead f 4 stars.

There were many parts of this book that were hard to read and digest--why Lizzie became and stayed the doctor's mistress, even when she thought (spoiler alert) that there might be something between him and Wendy. Another part that I had a problem with was Alice's relationship with Zack, especially the violence. The one surprise and I ended up liking her a lot, is Dr. Strauss's daughter Nina, who ended up being somewhat of a heroine. I guess the character of Wendy will always be a cipher, we know what occured in the research facility, but what happened to her after and why did she leave again and what happened to her. We did get some kind of closure with Lizzie, but not so much the other characters, which left me with an unsettled feeling.

This was a very interesting story. Wendy Doe is found a Peter Pan bus with no recollection of who she is or where she came from. There was a science side to this that I didn’t enjoy, but it was interesting.

'This body is not a temple, but it has been loved. You’d think someone would be looking for it.'

In Mother Daughter Widow Wife, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Epstein leaves her studies on rats behind after a bit of screw-up and hatches a plan to work beneath “cognitive psychology’s latest golden god” in order to ‘relaunch her research’ under the reputation, resource and genius of Benjamin Strauss of Medowlark Institute. Of the four fellowship winners, only one will win the right to publish with Strauss. Lizzie’s ambitions have found the perfect home in Benjamin, the sure thing to guide her intellectual life, even if getting there puts an end her current relationship. It isn’t long before she meets the ‘legend’ Strauss and is introduced to the subject that will take her into the labyrinth of the brain. Wendy Doe, by all appearances, is about the same age as Lizzie but unlike her doesn’t have a past to wrestle with.

Wendy Doe, a woman found on a Peter Pan bus with “no means of identification, including her own useless brain” is going to change Lizzie’s life despite having been spat out from her own. Diagnosed with dissociative fugue state, she is no longer just a patient reliant on the state but Lizzie and Benjamin’s subject matter. A woman wiped clean of any evidence of a past, ripe for Benjamin’s study into neurons, memory and brain dysfunction who Lizzie sees as a risk. Unlike rats that can be controlled, at any moment her family could find her or her memory could replace the ‘newborn woman’ who has taken over the body and ruin their research. This subject has the ability to ask questions of the researchers and worse, it could be a superb act, a lie. This study could end up being a waste of precious time and yet, Wendy could be key in launching Lizzie’s career, especially with Dr. Strauss’s name attached. Wendy doesn’t seem to want to remember if it means total annihilation of her current self. How could Lizzie possibly understand what it means to forget, to be without a well of memories to draw upon in order to define yourself? For Lizzie, whose self is ever present, her memories are perfectly waiting in her brain, even within her body and always waiting to be entertained. Wendy is akin to a living ghost and in some ways maybe all women are, dependent on the choices they make in life. Lizzie herself will wear different forms of being by the novel’s end, her life taking strange diversions, striving towards more than her career pursuits (for better or worse). The death of other selves could well be the theme. Embracing her ambition and casting it off, desire, love and passion for more than science.

Memories are imprints that sear the brain, creating a map of who we were so we can understand who we are as well as the person we are becoming. Our likes, dislikes, passions, friendships, loves, victories, failures, traumas and recoveries- all of these are building blocks. It’s terrifying to question what a core of a person is made of, how flimsy it truly is. How reliable, fruitful is this garden in the brain that we tend to when so much of what we encounter is forgotten or falsely remembered? How much meaning can we place upon our shared moments in time? This question is a torment for Wendy’s daughter, Alice. Her mother disappeared and in order to solve the mystery of her mother’s vanishing, she has to go backwards into Wendy’s murky past. Who was the mother she thought she knew?

Wendy resents being a test subject, but it’s her last resort. She is not just a body, though she is treated like one confronted with a stream of endless tests and questions. She is research and a conundrum Dr. Benjamin Strauss is desperate to solve but he was the first to make her feel like a human being. Do we need other people to see us in order to become real? She trusts him to explore the mysteries of her mind, but should she? Why would she want to let the woman who slipped out of her mind to come back? Where is the reason in thinking about that unwanted landlord who left a wobbly stranger in her place, who handed her this body with no crumbs to follow?

Unlike her rats, Wendy’s existence brings to the surface more questions than answers for Lizzie. The more she gets to know Wendy, who is slowly becoming a fresh person solely of the present, the more she questions inconsistencies of the self. In observing Wendy she is poking and prodding her own psyche. There is a certain freedom she witnesses, to be a woman who doesn’t need permission to think, to love, nor how to live. Does such freedom require being erased, free of the expectations of others? There too is Strauss, with his own plot of memories, a full life that she gets to excavate.How much meat is in concrete facts, more or less than resides in a ravaged mind? Everyone is elusive in their own way, even to themselves. She longs for him to be intrigued by her and through their study of Wendy, this mutual intellectual pursuit, a fever is rising between them. Strauss, through this study, may have just handed her the key into her life’s work. Like a pet, she beams under his praise. How can she possibly resist this remarkable man and not be impressed by his genius? What does such submission to a man’s preeminence cost?

What is forgetting? Why has Wendy’s mind completely erased her, if she is to be believed? Is erasure damnation or salvation? Is it better to cling to this life “without footholds” or to be free of everything that kept you tethered? Alice should be an anchor, she is the face on their other side of the cliff Wendy has plummeted from. Did she know her mother at all, and if the mother she knew, the facts of her were just a wisp of cloud what can she understand about her own memories, facts? Can Alice fill enough gaps to conjure her mother and unravel her many disappearances? Are omissions just another name for lies? Does Wendy have a center at all? Alice will seek answers through Lizzie, but may get lost in a more complex maze.

I know reviews will be mixed, but what drew me in is the stark terror of memory, that greasy, sometimes mean little weasel that more often than not betrays us, leads us astray or abandons us altogether. What do we owe it, more- what does it owe us? Lizzie and Wendy are both Benjamin’s subjects, in a sense, as the lines blur. It could be said Wendy studies them too- that’s the problem with a thinking, feeling subject, not just whether or not they are forthright but that you run the risk of influencing them, or they you. What do we project unto others? There is a lot happening here, and the presence of all the women in Benjamin’s life dominate the story. What about Benjamin and how he files his life experiences? It is most important how the women, dependent on their place in Strauss’s life, identify with each other but it is also about who present ourselves to be and the identity people allow us to embrace.

I really liked this story, even if it frustrates other readers, the novel had my mind going in strange places.

Publication Date: July 7, 2020

Scribner