Wow, this was so powerful!! I was really blown away by Chelsea Bieker’s new book. It reminded me a little of The Push by Ashley Audrain, but unique all the same.
“I’ll carry the burden of you and my father and everything that happened on the island for the rest of my life. But I vowed to carry it in silence. So many lies I’ve told to ensure it would be my secret forever. Mine to death. I really had things figured out.”
After her tumultuous childhood, Clove was determined she’d do everything differently. She found the right man—a safe husband who gave her the life she wanted. She loves her two young children, Nova and Lark, and if spending every moment with the kids may stress her out, she has places—and strategies—to help calm things down.
Clove (which may or may not be her real name) has some secrets about her life that she has kept hidden from nearly everyone. But when she receives a letter from a woman’s prison in California, her carefully built façade starts to crack. What will she do if her secrets are revealed? What will that mean for her marriage, her children, and their future?
Madwoman shifts between the present, as Clove’s anxiety about discovery mounts, and the moments from her childhood that lead to one crucial moment. She desperately wants to control the narrative but she’s having a hard enough time controlling her emotions.
Domestic violence is such an epidemic in our world and breaking the cycle of violence requires far more strength and support than many have. The book may be triggering for some, but Bieker does a fantastic job depicting the struggles and choices that those affected must make. Yes, I figured out the twists, but that didn’t really affect my love of the book.
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