The Other Mother by Carol Goodman

William Morrow | March 2018 | 352 pgs

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss

Carol Goodman's latest release, The Other Mother, is a story about motherhood, love, delusions and madness.

Daphne Marist and Laurel Hobbes are two new mothers who suffer from postpartum depression. The former has intrusive thoughts about harming her baby (which she didn't but the thoughts terrify her) while the latter has a history of depression and mental illness. They knew each other through a supporting group with other women who share the same issue. Their daughters even have the same name - Chloe. Daphne and Laurel hit it off quickly despite their clashing personalities. Daphne is meek while Laurel is attractive and authoritative. Both husbands aren't really supportive given their condition and this has somewhat make them closer despite Laurel's disapproval opinions of Daphne at times. She thinks Daphne has no backbone although she is flattered when Daphne tries to dress and look like her.

Daphne, on the other hand, devises a plan to leave home with Chloe for fear that her husband would deem her unfit to be a mother and appeal for child custody. After seeing an ad for a position of an archivist to a writer, she decides to use Laurel's name for the application. After all, Laurel has the credentials and Daphne sees no harm in imposing as her friend. Tucked in the Catskills, Daphne's new employer's mansion seems like a fairytale with its lush landscaping surrounding it. The only thing that dampen the beauty of it is the mental institution just beyond its border. And Daphne is very much intrigued with Schuyler Bennett, her new employer, as well as the papers she is working on. Daphne's job is to help in organising the paperwork, which consists of Dr. Bennett's (Schuyler's father, who was once the director of the mental institution) records of the patients and his personal journal of the patients' condition. Daphne then become entranced by a particular patient who seems to have borderline personality disorder and soon she finds herself caught up in a labyrinth of deceptions and insanity as reality blurs with madness.

The Other Mother, like its content, was a bumpy ride filled with insanities and confusion. With the story split into three parts with three different voices and their personal journals in between accounting the events that happened at some point in their life, what seems to be an intricate story turns out more like a bewilderment tale of doubts and confusion at times. The first part of the story was the best as it showcase the friendship and struggles between Daphne and Laurel. The events happened in the mental institution was another interesting aspect, but I was kind of bothered by some of the doctors' mentality towards the patients. And most of all, the ending and the truth perplexed me as it seemed a little rushed and too far-fetched to me. Overall the story was promising; the structure of a psychological suspense was there and it would be a great read if the execution was better.

[From the book: Women with postpartum OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) - having intrusive and disturbing thoughts, sometimes about harming their child - are advised NOT to read the first-person stories until after they have recovered.]

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