My Mother Next Door

By: Diane Danvers Simmons

Narrated by: Diane Danvers Simmons

It’s hardly newsworthy when a man walks out on his family. But it’s rather unusual for a mother to walk out, leaving the father to bring up their sixteen-year-old daughter—and downright scandalous for said Irish Catholic mother to move into the house next door to start a new life with a bunch of hot male students at the age of sixty.

No one can accuse Diane Danvers Simmons of telling a familiar story. Instead she offers a wickedly witty, candid, irreverent British coming-of-age story with a fresh take on maternal abandonment. In My Mother Next Door she shares the life lessons learned growing up in the revolutionary 1970s while her narcissistic mother charted her own unfathomable course to independence and freedom.

After living in America for decades and becoming a mother herself, Diane journeys back through the madness of her early years, coming to terms with a comical, painful family history, but also celebrating the strength and humor it has given her to face the absurdity of life. In trying to understand what drove her mother to become the woman next door, Diane discovers new respect, love, and even forgiveness: the root of our humanity.

©2021 Diane Danvers Simmons (P)2022 Diane Danvers Simmons

A book for every daughter and mother

Well written and strong story. I loved hearing the author read the book and feeling her struggles and strength in the story.

Entertaining and Endearing

Diane’s retelling of her childhood is beautiful and sad and hilarious all at the same time. Her narration is as good as her story. It’s a must read/listen! 5 stars!

Brilliant listen❣️

Enjoyed the book and have recommended to several friends already. Real life, humor and cleverly told with uplifting ending.

Provacative!

Diane Danvers Simmons' entertaining story is brimming with honesty and humor about how she felt as a sixteen year old when her mother left her and her father to move next door; while at the same time, coupling it all with the understanding and acceptance through the lens of a grown woman with a daughter of her own.

Diane's provocative book and the accompanying audio version are ripe with opportunities for anyone, male and female, to reflect on the kind of relationship they have or have had with their own mother.