Author(s): Lynne Tillman

Sociology

From the brilliantly original novelist and cultural critic Lynne Tillman comes Mothercare, an honest and beautifully written account of a sudden, drastically changed relationship to one's mother, and of the time and labor spent navigating the healthcare system When a mother's unusual health condition, normal pressure hydrocephalus, renders her entirely dependent on you, your sisters, caregivers, and companions, the unthinkable becomes daily life. In Mothercare, Tillman describes doing what seems impossible: handling her mother as if she were a child and coping with a longtime ambivalence toward her. In Tillman's celebrated style and as a 'rich noticer of strange things' (Colm Toibin), she describes, without flinching, the unexpected, heartbreaking, and anxious eleven years of caring for a sick parent. Mothercare is both a cautionary tale and sympathetic guidance for anyone who suddenly becomes a caregiver. This story may be helpful, informative, consoling, or upsetting, but it never fails to underscore how impossible it is to get the job done completely right.

Review: 'A true force in American literature.' - George Saunders; 'A new thought in every sentence.' - Lydia Davis; 'Lynne Tillman has always been a hero of mine.' - Jonathan Safran Foer

Author Biography: Lynne Tillman writes novels, short stories, essays, and criticism. Her novel No Lease on Life was a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction, and her essay collection What Would Lynne Tillman Do? a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism. She is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Creative Capital/Warhol Foundation Grant for Arts Writing, and in 2022 she won the Katherine Anne Porter Prize. She is a Professor/Writer-in-Residence in the English Department at the University of Albany. She lives in Manhattan with the bass player David Hofstra.