Book cover of The Mother I Could Have Been

Book description

Why would you walk away from the one person you can’t live without?

As a child, Vicky Hall never had the sort of family she wanted. The least important person in her new step-family, ignored by her mother in favour of her two younger half-siblings, Vicky was always an afterthought.…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Mother I Could Have Been as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

What would you do if you found yourself in a new relationship, pregnant, and with nowhere to turn?

Vikky Hall, the protagonist in this story, has chosen to cut herself off from the mother she feels couldn’t care less, and winds up living with her boyfriend’s family while raising their son. As a result of toxic relationships and manipulation which bring on depression and self-doubt, Vikky sees no way out. She leaves their home—and her toddler son—behind.

This is a magnificently crafted novel exploring relationships between parents and children, the insecurity and guilt that can often come with motherhood, found…

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Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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