Do the stories we tell ourselves about who we are have a generational impact? Like Mother, Like Mother examines this question through the stories of three women.

Lila is the executive editor of The Washington Globe, having achieved this success despite a difficult childhood and an abusive father who had her mother, Zelda, committed to an asylum when she was only two. Having had no relationship with her own mother, Lila is unable to fill the idyllic motherhood role for her own children, and instead chooses to pursue success in her career while her husband assumes a more nurturing role with their three daughters. Grace, Lila’s youngest daughter, feeling abandoned and disappointed in the way her mother has shown up for her, Grace’s resentment toward her mother shapes all aspects of her life, from her career to her relationships. She publishes a book based on her mother’s life and she realizes that instead of seeking answers for the questions she may have had around her mother’s disappearance, Lila accepted things as they were told to her. Could knowing the truth have changed the person she would become?

The characters were well-developed and their struggles were realistic and believable. The pacing was pretty fast and it honestly read like a movie, which made it an even more entertaining read. Though the story focuses on three main women, it’s a gripping story of an entire family, the effects of abuse, trauma, motherhood, marriage, success, and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.

An enthralling novel about three generations of strong-willed women, unknowingly shaped by the secrets buried in their family’s past.

Like Mother, Like Mother
A Novel
by Susan Rieger
(This review is based on an ARC sent to me by NetGalley)
This is a novel of three generations of strong-willed women and the story line is shaped by the secrets buried in their family’s past.
The main protagonists are Lila Pereira. Lila's violently abusive father, Aldo, told his children that their mother, Zelda, died in the mental institution he sent her off to when Lila was 2,
Grace, Lila’s youngest daughter feels resentment towards her mother. Lila seems to cast a shadow over Grace and shapes Grace’s life. Lila prioritizes her career, leaving the rearing of her daughters to her generous husband, Joe. Lila rises to the pinnacle of American media as the powerful, brilliant executive editor of The Washington Globe. The other character in the Novel is Ruth, Grace ‘s college roommate who has some influence on Grace.
Grace wishes she had a “normal” mother who would attend PTA meetings not White House correspondents' dinners. The story goes from past to present. The Lost Mother, a fictionalized account of Grace’s life with Lila, was published by Grace 3 months before Lila retired. This is a family drama, a multi-generational family saga, with twists and turns in many of the chapters.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. Enjoyed this, very thought provoking.

3.5 | I enjoyed the larger than life character of Lila, the mysterious plot about Zelda, and the various looks at motherhood. I thought the pacing suffered through the middle with Grace’s part, and I often pondered why I was even enjoying the voices of this novel- they read so high-brow and pretentious at times. Even still, it was like something interesting and so unlike my own life that I just couldn’t look away from! Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an early review copy. Recommended to readers who enjoy family dynamics, unconventional motherhood, and a deep dive into “why am I the way I am?” excusing some overly naval-gazy parts here and there.

A beautiful portrait of the complicated mother daughter relationship. It says so much and says it so beautifully

This book begins where it ends, at the funeral of a main character.

Is that a spoiler? Or a genius literary move?

The story begins with the tale of the swimming lesson, Grace recalling that her sisters were told they couldn't kill her. The entire book rolls like this: darkly humorous and lightly serious. It's both/neither. I'm still not certain.

I'm not certain if I like Grace. Or Lila. I'm not sure it matters. Maybe that's the point.

"She had no interest in soul-searching, her own or other people's. 'Being pitied is almost as awful as being scared.'"

"This is a ghost story. Whether she lived or died, she haunted our family."

The beginning and ending of this novel are a stroke of genius; the middle drags. I have no idea how to rate it, but it's worth the read.

Honestly, it's about mothers - and daughters.

"They did what they had to. They did what they could."

A story about women, specifically three in one family, but more importantly all the women surrounding this family — sisters, aunts, friends, daughters, mothers, in laws, and grandmothers, Rieger plays with personalities, inherited or crafted, and the strong connective tissue that can either flourish or fall away in a captivating novel about family.

Lila Pereira, the mother in this trio and who dominates the first section of the book, is as tough as she is hardworking. After an abusive upbringing, which included her mother's confinement to a medical asylum, Lila's drive to escape these trappings can't propel her fast enough. She makes no apologies and brokers no excuses. After meeting and marrying Joe, they have three kids — all girls — but Lila's participation from the get-go was to be kept apart from the typical mothering side. As she continued to climb high in her career, eventually rising to executive editor of The Washington Globe, she struggles to find a balance between home and work.

The youngest daughter, Grace, has always felt friction between her perceived needs, her ardent childhood and teenage desires, and her mother's lack of maternal instincts. Even as a young adult, Grace struggles to see Lila through any lens but that of resentment and neglect. In an attempt to uncover her own truth, stake a claim in a world separate from her mother, but also enact a tiny bit of revenge, Grace pens a roman à clef, barely masking the tale of her incredibly successful mother, her own woes, and most importantly, reimagining a life where her grandmother ran away from Lila and the other children to escape the abusive household at any cost. Grace is unable to see that her novel was written with the same force — at any cost. Failing to see who this novel might hurt aside from Lila, she must now make things right with all the women in her life following Lila's death.

Rieger takes her time with this one, building a solid foundation of family throughout — both the broken and that which was made whole. The dominating presence of the women in Like Mother, Like Mother made the novel especially poignant. In particular the interconnectedness of all the women, held together by the main trio, but especially by Lila and Grace. Rieger develops all the relationships carefully and brick-by-brick, creating a solid story that spans three generations.

Interestingly, the dialogue in this novel is weighted heavily, and rightly so, by things so-and-so used to say, particularly Lila. Words to live by become a part of the family's vernacular, so much so that Grace sometimes struggles to see the wisdom for the words. Not only was this an incredibly natural touch to include, but I loved how this component tethered the women to each other, even in someone's absence, like indented writing that long ago left its mark three layers down.

With complexity in the story and in the wonderful characterizations, Rieger penned a beautifully compelling narrative. While I do wish a certain aspect had been taken in a different direction, I think Rieger retained her quality of writing throughout — even if I sort of wish it had ended a bit differently.

Like Mother Like Mother
By Susan Rieger

This is a book about many things: domestic abuse and its lifelong effects on partners and children; genealogy testing and what the unintended results might be; what makes any given relationship work.

The story is of a family, extended through marriage and sometimes just by love. The story line is interesting, but the best thing about the book is the characters. All have strengths, all have flaws. Just as there are a number of different last names, so are there different personalities. But in spite of all the conflicts and misunderstandings, the love they all share shines through.

This turned out to be a much better book than I expected. Well worth the read.

I liked Ms. Rieger's earlier novels and was looking forward to her next book - and Like Mother, Like Mother didn't disappoint!

Lila's the main character and while she dies in the beginning, we get to know her in subsequent chapters and through the eyes of other family members and friends --- and she's a wonderful character! The book is well organized around three generations of women: Lila, her daughter Grace, and her mother Zelda. There are a lot of characters in the novel and the family trees in the beginning were initially very helpful.
I loved the Washington, DC and media news setting and related gossip, and especially the setting during the Trump administration.
Like Mother, Like Mother features three generations of strong willed women, challenging mother/daughter relationships, and family secrets that are all rolled into one entertaining novel.
Thanks to Netgalley and Dial Press for the opportunity to read Like Mother, Like Mother. I received a complimentary copy of this book and opinions expressed are completely my own.

This is a great book. The writing was fast paced. The characters were well defined and easy to connect to.

I got this as an DRC but I didn't get around to reading it until recently. It is a multi-generational story centered around the women in the family and told from multiple view points. It was a quick read once it got going and I think that had something to do with the way the book was written. The main women were no nonsense and didn't waste time with extraneous details. I felt like the writing reflected that. Some of the story felt disjointed and there were a lot of name drops (brands, etc) that I wasn't familiar with, which was distracting. None of the women were particularly likeable but I really didn't connect with Grace and her "quest" to find answers. In the end, it was just an ok book for me. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing it as an DRC in exchange for a review.

Really enjoyed this read, I needed a pallet cleanser from my typical genre, and this was it! The cover is what pulled me in but the storyline kept me wanting to read! I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Love this book, can’t wait for the movie. Sometime, you need something different in your reading genre, and this was it.

I was surprised and excited to find that this novel, by an author I was unfamiliar with, that I hadn't known anything about going in, was really, really good. I wasn't sure what to expect before I picked it up but I'm surprised I haven't seen this book everywhere because it really fits the bill for the type of "book club fiction" that you see all over the place. I'm sure the window for that has passed, since it was published last year, but I do hope it gets a little more attention.

Anyway, I loved this. The characters are vibrant, complicated and complex and truly feel like real people. I had a ton of empathy for Lila, and despite the fact that she was objectively unlikable, I still liked her and rooted for her. It actually took me longer to warm up to her daughter, Grace, because to me she read like a spoiled child who was disappointed at not getting the exact family situation that she wanted. As I got to know her, I really did understand where she was coming from, and I liked her a lot more in the last third.

The novel is really about generational trauma and how we can never escape our pasts or our parents. Growing from the pain of our upbringing really takes a lot of work and a deep understanding of ourselves and our families. This was so well illustrated in this book as Rieger traces the trauma that followed this family through these women. I really liked this, and I won't stop thinking about it anytime soon.

I really enjoyed this book. Was a good character study of mothers & daughters. Will definitely read more from this author.

This book was lovely and endearing as you watched the relationships unfold amongst generations. It was easy to become entrenched in the drama and feel each characters feelings deeply.

The premise of this story seemed very interesting. However I felt for me it did not grab my attention and pull me into the world the way I want books to.

Not a perfect book by any means, but incredibly propulsive with interesting characters. I also really enjoyed the audiobook narration.

I enjoyed this multi generational story about mothers and their impact on their children. I won’t say that Zelda or Lila are necessarily good mothers, but the argument that they did the best they could with what they were given could sway me. I left this book a bit heartbroken for both the mother figures and their children. I loved how the story unfolded between Lila’s story, Grace’s story, then Zelda’s. I also liked the call outs to Detroit and the suburbs where I live. There were times when the story was a bit slow but overall I enjoyed the story and the characters.