I absolutely fell in love with Mae and so thoroughly enjoyed watching her take on life over the decades. She is so relatable and admirable. There are so many things she has to deal with like coming of age, marriage, motherhood, the dissolution of a marriage, a career, and finding who she is and what she truly wants in life. I can’t get this book out of my head and will be reading again and again. This swept me off my feet. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Review will be posted on Instagram and Amazon on pub day and links added to NetGalley.

In "Wild Aster" Anna Hogeland has magnifcantly recreated America at the turn of the 20th century, through the following five decades. Ida and her daughter Mae, born in Ohio, dirt farmers, dirt poor, are runaways. They represent the best of American womanhood: fearless, intrepid, full of hope. They make mistakes, get up off the ground and keep going. Through their eyes we witness the dawning of a new era of industrialization, knocked about by the 1929 market crash, the ensuing depression and the terrors of WW2. But like these two remarkable women the country gets up, dusts itself off, and keeps going. The depredations that women were subjected to by men and by society in general are time and again brought home in stinging focus. No contraception, so women who slept with a man got pregnant whether or not they wanted children. Want a diaphragm? Had to have your husband sign a written consent. Wanted your husband to be faithful? Good luck with that. This is a novel I literally could not put down. Utterly enthralling. It's about life, and life only. What could be better than that? Highest recommendation.