Mis-Mother: Truths About Motherhood Your Mom Never Revealed is a story of survivorship, love, and imperfect mothering spanning 150 years in one crazy family. Our culture both adulates and irrationally blames mothers, obscuring much of the real maternal experience. This secrecy often leads women and men thunderstruck in early parenthood.

Intending to do it "better" than our own parents, we find ourselves reliving and re-enacting the experiences of previous generations. Epigenetic research indicates historical trauma, mental illness, addiction, and peculiar coping styles are passed down through both nurture and nature.


This was my personal experience as a mother when I suddenly understood why my Irish great-great grandmother was referred to as "Mad Mary." With humor, honesty, and historical references, I share my journey and that of my maternal ancestors from wounded soldiers to devoted warriors.


With universal appeal, everyone will recognize elements of their own story in this powerful and poignant memoir.