The gasp I gusped when I hit the 70% mark of this book. I had to immediately keep going. That twist I did not see coming at all. This author is such a great historical storyteller and I loved this book.

Have you ever started a new book and just known you were going to love it? That's how I felt from the first page of "The Mad Wife." I'd never read this author's work and wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised! The writing is engaging, smart, and funny. And the characters feel like you can reach out and touch them!

The story follows Lulu, a 1950s housewife who is struggling to maintain her perfect life while keeping up with her husband, neighbors, and famous gelatin salads. But when motherhood doesn't match the textbooks, Lulu's journey takes unexpected turns.

I knew from the synopsis that this book would hit home for me as someone who battled severe postpartum depression, and it definitely did. So while I recommend keeping that in mind if you also find yourself juggling mental health, I believe this story is a wonderful way to feel seen and heard. It's comforting to know we aren't alone, and I've never felt more validated by a character than I did with Lulu.

An honest look at motherhood and the expectations placed upon women of all decades, this book is real and raw. I appreciate the author's desire to shed light on experiences that often go untold and I'm excited to read more of her work!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Set in the 1950s, The Mad Wife follows suburban housewife Lulu Mayfield, whose carefully curated life begins to unravel after the birth of her second baby.

To her friends and neighbors, Lulu is the Queen of the Jell-O Mold, serving up gelatin-encased meals during house parties. She’s interested in photography and dutifully collects stamps, trading booklets for household appliances and other items. She has a sweet four-year-old son named Wesley, and eventually gives birth to a baby girl, Esther.

But Lulu is haunted by a past tragedy and crumbling under the societal pressures of motherhood. Her husband Henry, a junior architect, is aiming for a big promotion at work and doesn’t realize how hard Lulu is struggling to keep it all together. He’s as supportive as he knows how to be, but he’s not exactly sensitive.

When Gary and Bitsy Betser move into the neighborhood, Lulu’s curiosity is piqued. Something about Bitsy seems off in a way Lulu can’t put her finger on. Although Lulu is put off by Bitsy’s vacant stares and odd behavior, she’s determined to figure out her secret. But as Lulu’s obsession with Bitsy grows, she begins to spiral, putting her own mental health into question.

The Mad Wife tackles the subject of female hysteria through a familiar lens, that of the suffering housewife, but with an interesting twist that reframes the entire narrative. It is a haunting meditation on women’s health, both mental and physical. Though the ending felt slightly rushed, I was captivated by Lulu’s story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.

The Mad Wife is a haunting peek behind the pristine curtains of 1950s suburbia. I was hooked watching Lulu’s perfect housewife facade slowly crumble as she starts to see through the cracks of her new neighbor Bitsy’s shiny smile. It’s unsettling, tense, and I couldn’t stop turning the pages trying to figure out if Lulu was truly losing it or finally waking up. Big thanks to NetGalley for letting me get my hands on this one early!

I love when what I thought was happening didn’t happen at all, a masterful case study in unreliable narration, this was EXCELLENT. Truly enjoyed the mad wife.

I was reeled into this book in the first few pages and read the entire thing in less than 2 days. It felt like an underlying tension was always there and that something mysterious was lurking, waiting to happen. I felt SO many different things from this story that it’s hard to put into words, but I really enjoyed it and highly recommend!

Lulu is a housewife and mom living in the quintessential 1950's. Her life revolves around stamp books, creating Jell-O masterpieces, and trying to figure out her new neighbor, Bitsy. But behind the scenes, things aren’t so picture-perfect. After the birth of her daughter, Lulu starts to feel off, and no one around her seems to notice or understand. The Mad Wife is a moving, emotional story full of nostalgia, unexpected turns, and honest reflection. Meagan Church shines a light on what many women went through behind closed doors, in a time when being a “good wife” often meant hiding your struggles.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmarks, and Meagan Church for the opportunity to read The Mad Wife!

“The Mad Wife” is a historical fiction book by Meagan Church. It is rare - very rare - that I give books five stars … and this book is one of them. While this book began a bit slowly for my taste, once the story got going (and people established) it went along at a good clip. This book made me wonder for a while if I were reading a mystery - what is going on with the main character’s obsession about the new neighbors across the street? Then around the 70% mark, things became clearer … and then more clear when the final nugget as dropped around the 90% mark. Go into this book as blind as you can - it helps. What I found frustrating (and from the Author’s note - which you shouldn’t read until you’ve finished reading this book - that was part of the point) was how back in the 1950s women feeling anxious or frustrated were met with “here’s a pill.” While in many ways that approach hasn’t changed, there are other options to going around in a haze (and don’t get me wrong, sometimes a pill can take the edge off can help clear thinking and begin the healing process). If “The Bell Jar” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” come to you while reading this book, that’s intentional. I can see why some people don’t like this book, but for me, while this book wasn’t a fun happy go-lucky thrill of a ride, it was deep enough for me to think about and wonder what was going on. Well done but deals with heavy topics.

“Of course, sometimes we forget that dreams and nightmares are two sides of the same coin.”

I’m always interested in a book about 1950’s housewives. There is just something so intriguing about their lives. This book was a wild ride that took unexpected turns I wasn’t prepared for. The first part was excellent. The second part took a shocking turn. The ending felt a bit rushed but this is psychological suspense so I suppose there wasn’t much more to do. It is well written, leaving the reader feeling all kinds of emotions. Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for the early copy.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of The Mad Wife. Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark, for this opportunity.

Meagan Church’s The Mad Wife is a haunting psychological exploration set in 1950s suburbia, a world bound by postwar conformity and silent suffering. With echoes of The Yellow Wallpaper, The Bell Jar, and The Hours, Church crafts a taut narrative that interrogates how women's bodies and minds have been pathologized and controlled. The Mad Wife is a powerful, unflinching portrayal of a woman reclaiming herself in a world determined to define her as mad. It is both a sobering historical reflection and a heartfelt declaration: there is strength in acknowledging pain, and even greater strength in refusing to let others define it. Church has achieved something rare: a novel that is intellectually rigorous, emotionally resonant, and structurally thrilling. Her portrayal of medical paternalism on women’s bodies is informed, eloquent, and deeply unsettling. For anyone interested in historical gender dynamics and the legacy of medical control, The Mad Wife is both overdue and unmissable.

I loved this book! Definitely a lot to be said about the agency of women both in the home and in the Healthcare setting but it stands on its own as a twisty what's going to happen next unreliable narrator book.

“The Mad Wife” by Meagan Church is a captivating, atmospheric plunge into 1950s suburban life—seen through the eyes of Lulu, a seemingly perfect housewife whose world begins to quietly unravel. Church’s writing is immersive: you'll feel the weight of Lulu’s routine, the sterile perfection of Jell-O molds, and the strain of societal expectations. Just beneath the polite façade simmers a potent psychological suspense, as Lulu’s growing fixation on her new neighbor and own unraveling self take center stage .

Oh my, this story is quite the emotional ride. An expertly woven story about the joys and tragedies of motherhood, and how trying to become someone you’re not can eat away at your happiness and identity.

An exploration of grief, delusion, and societal pressures. There are some real triggers with this book, but if you’re in a place to read through them, this story will give you the space to sit with all the messy, heavy, mixed up emotions you might be feeling while also feeling like you’re being surrounded by a supportive community.

This one really worked for me - highly recommend.

I loved this book! The gasp I gasped!! There are lots of twists and turns and I love the historical setting. I consider this a dark domestic drama and I was hooked! Highly recommend!

I was quite wowed by this book simply because it was so relatable. I think any mother, stay at home or not could probably relate to this story in some way.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC of this book. I’ve read both of Meagan Church’s previous two books, The Girls We Sent Away and The Last Carolina Girl, and I thoroughly enjoy her ability to write an engaging story.
And that wasn’t any different in her newest story, The Mad Wife.

Following the story of Lulu, a proud mother and caring wife in the 1950s, Meagan really captured the internal struggles and outward challenges that impacted many women during this time. Without divulging too much, I really think she shared the challenges of postpartum depression and anxiety during this era in a unique and thoughtful way.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and it had some great twists that I didn’t anticipate that really elevated the story. However, while I enjoy Meagan’s writing, I do feel like she spends too much time describing mundane activities or details that don’t bring anything to the story.

Overall, I think this is my favorite book of hers to date and shares a unique perspective on the 1950s housewife.

'They called it hysteria, she called it survival'

I couldn't put this book down,
I never thought I'd read a book with long chapters but these didn't feel long
The story was captivating the whole way through

There's so much more I want to say but don't want to ruin the book and Give to much away

Honestly, this book may be a contender for the best book I’ve read this year and it’s not even officially out yet. Although it took a completely unexpected and, in my own opinion, slightly disappointing turn toward the end, it does a fantastic job of encapsulating the story of so many women (to be completely fair, the turn is only disappointing because it’s not where I was personally hoping it was going, not because it was bad — because by all counts, it was fantastic).

This story does a great job at showcasing the inner turmoil, anger, and utter gaslighting nature women have had to face throughout all of history, but especially and particularly during the 1950s. By the halfway point of the book, I felt the need to scream, not because of the book itself, but because I felt immersed in Lulu’s world and needed *her* to scream.

The writing, even for an arc, is also stunning. The metaphors are poignant and nearly every chapter ends in a moment of reflection, acting as a perfect opportunity to mentally soak it all in before moving on.

Without spoiling anything, the twist was not something I saw coming, which is rare for me. So even if it wasn’t what I personally wanted to happen, it was beautiful and even had me tearing up.

This is one I’ll remember for a while.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Meagan Church’s previous novels, and her latest release, “The Mad Wife,” may be her most captivating work to date. Set in the 1950s, this insightful novel follows Lulu Mayfield, a young housewife and mother navigating the complexities of her life. As Lulu seeks to find her footing on her journey through motherhood, she quickly spirals into a profound exploration of her innermost struggles.

The road Lulu embarks upon is both riveting and emotional, drawing readers into her world and making it nearly impossible to put the book down. I believe many women will find the storyline incredibly powerful. Even though the book is set in the 1950s, it remains very relevant today as it tackles themes of identity, grief, resilience, mental health, and the pressures of societal expectations. “The Mad Wife” is a remarkable 5+++ star novel that would make a fantastic choice for any book club!

1950-Lulu Mayfield is exhausted playing the perfect housewife, mother and friend. Her neighborhood is loving her hospitality which includes gelatin salads. She also loves photography and acquiring things with S & H stamps. The nostalgic things of the 50’s.

Lulu gets a new neighbor, who is starting to realize that Lulu’s life is not all that it seems. To be far after she has her second child things get extremely difficult. Lulu is suffering from depression and exhaustion.

Her husband is trying to be supportive and takes her to the doctor. The doctors at the time say she is suffering from Hysteria.
Family, twists, motherhood, friendship and life in the 50’s made this one an interesting novel. I was born in the 60’s but that era has always fascinated me.