What Kind of Mother - by Claire Swinarski

Book Synopsis

A dynamic, honest, and beautifully written novel about a young mother who returns to her small-town Wisconsin home after living in a cult-like "Mommune," and what happens with the other women in her family as they each navigate the constraints, complexities, and joys of modern motherhood.

Cass Simon never expected to return to small-town Wisconsin--not after escaping life inside a cult-like "Mommune" and falling under the spell of an online mom-fluencer. But with nowhere left to turn, she finds herself back under her family's roof, carrying more questions than answers about what it means to be a mother.

Waiting for Cass is her own mother, Remy--hardworking matriarch of the Baumhaus supper club. Remy's love for her children is fierce but tangled with old grief and the fear of letting go, especially as she prepares to say goodbye to the family business that has anchored them for generations.

Beside them stands Hilary, Cass's older sister--an artist and devoted mother whose divorce has shaken her belief in herself; and Erin, a Simon by marriage, who is quietly battling heartbreak as she struggles to find gratitude for a pregnancy that both terrifies and redeems her. Each of the Simon women pursues her own vision of motherhood: Cass's instinct for protection after trauma, Remy's hope to be a harbor her daughters can always return to, and her sisters' hard-won wisdom about letting go of perfection.

Set against the backdrop of a vibrant, sometimes claustrophobic Wisconsin town, this dynamic and beautifully honest novel explores forgiveness, the bonds--and boundaries--of family, and the deeply personal journey of discovering what it truly means to be a "good mother."