“Motherhood is a mental illness” -Ramona from the movie Hustlers
The book opens with twenty-two years old Missy, who is a cellist in an indie rock band that is about to go on Tour, wanting to get her tubes tied. She wants to have the freedom of going on tour without having to worry about getting pregnant and as someone who was abandoned by her mother, she really does not want to have children. Of course, all the clinics and doctors she visited refuses to grant her wish because they “know” she will change her mind. Yes, she is twenty two but Missy is determined to live a life filled with freedom and doing everything men get to do.
Carola, Missy’s mom, is on her way to the police station to file a complaint after being involved with a sex scandal at a yoga center. Carola was drawn to the older yoga instructor who turned out to be having sex and grooming everyone at the center. While she goes to file the complaint, Carola sees her daughter on the cover of a music magazine, this is the first time she sees her in over 10 years. Carola, who grew up wanting to change the world, got pregnant with Missy and felt trapped. She tried being there, but felt more free not having the responsibility of raising a child.
Eighty-three year old Ruth fled from Turkey to America decades ago, met and married a man who could not commit to her, even though he tried. With Missy, her granddaughter touring America, Ruth have a lot of time to think on how she wants proceed with the next phase of her life, especially having been diagnosed with a fatal illness. Ruth’s one last wish is to have Carol and Missy meet to see if they are start working through their problems. The meeting goes worse than Ruth expects….
I absolutely loved this book! Three generation of women showcasing what freedom and having power over their uterus looks like- I was here for it! I feel like we don’t read enough about young women who don’t want children, women who have children and feel trapped so they leave and older women who decided they will only have one child because they don’t want anymore. I felt the author did a brilliant job of capturing mother-daughter relationships, what freedom looks like for each woman, and how society pressures women to fit in a certain box. The themes are explored in such a nuanced and interesting way. A solid read.
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