Domenica Ruta's All the Mothers hits pitch-perfect emotional notes that will have readers laughing and crying in equal measure. Ruta (With or Without You; Last Day) has written a wise and captivating novel that follows a collective of mothers trying to get by and build a life for their children and themselves. The story opens with Sandy, a new mother leaking breast milk in the office bathroom, frantically scouring social media for "the other woman."
It's a desperate, funny, and relatable moment that leads her down an unexpected path to a surprising community of mutually supportive mothers, including a spitfire activist and a young bombshell of a hair stylist. These women come together with electric chemistry and a healthy measure of drama. The relationships between them form the beating heart of the novel, but the narrative primarily tracks Sandy, including her personal history. A hilarious, illuminating, and poignant backstory detour digs into her series of unfortunate relationships, a group of friends she refers to as "the squad," and her grief at losing her own mother.
Ruta writes insightfully about female experiences: "The impulse to best another woman, to win a contest with no prize, is hard to shake even now." These mothers are in so many ways set up to fail--fighting fruitlessly for nothing. But when they find one another, they set out in a new direction, hoping to discover inventive and more fulfilling ways to live. All the Mothers is a gorgeous and laugh-out-loud ode to love and motherhood. --Carol Caley, writer