The Mother Act

By: Heidi Reimer

Narrated by: Beth Hicks, Lisa Flanagan

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

"Propulsive and affecting.... This is worthy of a standing ovation."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Set against the sparkling backdrop of the theater world, this propulsive debut follows the relationship between an actress who refuses to abandon her career and the daughter she chooses to abandon instead.

Sadie Jones, a larger-than-life actress and controversial feminist, never wanted to be a mother. No one feels this more deeply than Jude, the daughter Sadie left behind. While Jude spent her childhood touring with her father’s Shakespearian theater company, desperate for validation from the mother she barely knew, Sadie catapulted to fame on the wings of The Mother Act—a scathing one-woman show about motherhood.

Two decades later, Jude is a talented actress in her own right, and her fraught relationship with Sadie has come to a scandalous head. On a December evening in New York City, at the packed premiere of Sadie’s latest play, the two come face-to-face and the intertwined stories of their lives unfold—colorfully and dramatically. What emerges is a picture of two very different women navigating the complicated worlds of career, love, and family, all while grappling with the essential question: can they ever really understand each other?

Compelling, insightful, and cleverly conveyed as a play in six acts, The Mother Act is a stylish work that looks at what it means to be a devoted mother and a devoted artist—and whether it is possible to be both.

©2023 Heidi Reimer (P)2023 Random House Canada

Critic reviews

“Heidi Reimer's clear-eyed take on a complicated mother-daughter relationship is both emotionally exacting and highly entertaining. An honest, endearing family story for any theater fan, or for anyone who has ever been or had a mother. I devoured this book.”—Aja Gabel, author of The Ensemble

“Does a child’s life matter more than her mother’s? Throughout The Mother Act, Reimer asks that question, turning over the facets of two women’s hurts, choices, and respective artistic journeys. Reimer challenged my presumptions time and time again, refusing to define such a complex topic—motherhood—in simple terms.”—Emily Neuberger, author of A Tender Thing

"A dazzling debut and beautifully crafted mother-daughter love story. The Mother Act hooked me from the first page to the last as I willed Sadie and Jude to find their way back to each other."—Bernadette Jiwa, author of The Making of Her