All the Mothers - by Domenica Ruta (Hardcover)

About the Book

"While her whole life crumbles around her, Sandy is stalking her ex's Instagram. Specifically, she is scrolling through his follower list, desperately trying to find the other woman she suspects he has a child with. After a series of disastrous romantic choices, Sandy makes her greatest mistake yet when she gets unexpectedly pregnant in her mid-30s by a dating-app flop. Sandy tries to maintain something like a normal life with her daughter's dad, a wannabe rock star, and his icy, codependent mother. But finding out that her baby has a half-sibling she doesn't know anything about is a bridge too far. Sandy has to talk to this woman. Enter Stephanie, the other mother. Sandy is prepared to hate her but when the two women meet, they are shocked to learn how much they have in common beyond the deadbeat father their children share. Now Sandy needs to figure out what her and Rosie's family looks like with all these new additions. Could life in a mommune be the answer to her prayers, or just a new brand of chaos? In this winning story of family both chosen and created, Sandy is about to discover that when nothing goes as planned, the best things become possible"--

Book Synopsis

Welcome to "the mommune."

From New York Times bestselling author Domenica Ruta comes a "delightful and honest"* novel about a single mom reimagining what the perfect family can look like.

"Have you ever gotten screwed over by a man you never cared all that much for to begin with? Join the club. . . . A joyful journey about the trials of motherhood and found family."--Harper's Bazaar*

Sandy thought she was making her greatest mistake yet when she got unexpectedly pregnant in her mid-thirties by a dating-app flop. Now, her baby Rosie is the love of her life, but trying to co-parent with her daughter's dad, a wannabe rock star, is a challenge--and seems to be veering into catastrophe territory when Sandy finds out through social media that her daughter has a half-sibling Sandy doesn't know anything about.

Enter her ex's ex, Stephanie, the other mother. Sandy is prepared to hate her but when the two women meet, they are shocked to learn how much they have in common beyond the deadbeat father their children share. Now Sandy needs to figure out what her and Rosie's family looks like with all these new additions. Could life in a "mommune" be the answer to her prayers, or just a new brand of chaos?

In this winning story of family both born and chosen, Sandy is about to discover that when nothing goes as planned, the best things become possible.

Review Quotes

"Have you ever gotten screwed over by a man you never cared all that much for to begin with? Join the club . . . This delightful and honest novel by Domenica Ruta . . . is a joyful journey about the trials of motherhood and found family."--Harper's Bazaar, "The 20 Best Beach Reads"

"All the Mothers is written by one of the most talented and shockingly good writers of our time. There is depth here, there is grace, and this story will resound as a rallying cry for mothers everywhere for generations to come. If you have ever had a mother or been cared for, this book is for you, meaning this book is for everyone."--Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman

"No one writes about motherhood like Domenica Ruta. Seriously, no one. With tremendous humor, intelligence, wisdom, and, of course, heart, Ruta takes a hard, unflinching look at exactly what it takes to survive in America as a single mother. The result is a defining novel for these turbulent times. I loved it and can't stop thinking about it."--Joanna Rakoff, author of My Salinger Year

"All the Mothers is a wickedly funny, wildly entertaining, and deeply felt novel about motherhood, money, and making a happy home beyond the borders of convention. You won't be able to put this one down."--Leigh Stein, author of Self Care

"Warm, funny, and absolutely right, All the Mothers is a novel about my favorite kind of family: complicated. Domenica Ruta's intimately-sketched characters are impressively messy, familiar, beguiling, formidable, maddening, heartbreaking, and life affirming . . . sometimes all in the same morning."--Laurie Frankel, author of Family Family

"A timely hymn to female friendship and platonic love, this spicy story about Baby Mamas becoming Alpha matriarchs was so funny, tender and necessary, I couldn't put it down."--Courtney Maum, author of The Year of the Horses

"At once wickedly funny and delightfully warm, All the Mothers beautifully captures the struggles and--more crucially--the myriad unexpected joys of raising children and creating community with the people who show up, whoever they may be. Domenica Ruta brings such much-needed joy and humor to the subject of motherhood that I want to press this book into the hands of every parent I know." --Jessie Gaynor, author of The Glow

"A funny, heartfelt meditation on the many definitions of family."--Swan Huntley, author of I Want You More

"A perfectly charming and complex ode to mothers and found families . . . The real marvel is the beautifully drawn characters, who are realized with tremendous depth. Ruta skillfully sketches the complexities and struggles of single motherhood, especially as it relates to financial precarity and the importance of cultivating joy and community."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

About the Author

Domenica Ruta is the New York Times bestselling author of the memoir With or Without You and the novel Last Day, lauded one of 100 Notable Books of the Year in 2019 by the New York Times Book Review. Born and raised in Danvers, Massachusetts, she is a graduate of Oberlin College and holds an MFA from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin. She currently teaches in the creative writing program at Sarah Lawrence College, and her writing has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Cut, The American Scholar, Oprah online, and many others. She currently lives in New York City with her family.