Brandy Ferner

Adult Conversation is an engaging and funny novel about a woman’s struggle with contemporary middle-class motherhood.

“Modern motherhood looked so much like anxiety, which was which?”

April doesn’t understand why she is finding full-time motherhood so difficult. She adores her children, eight year-old Elliot, and two year-old Violet, but is increasingly overwhelmed by her family’s endless demands on her time, energy and sanity. Desperate for advice she reaches out to a therapist who show more helps her to find some perspective

Ferner’s observations of motherhood are wry and honest. I well remember feeling exhausted, frustrated, and ‘touched’ out after a long day of caring for young children so I immediately empathised with April. Her concerns are so close to what my own were in the early years, and though the anxiety of wondering if you are doing it ‘right’ never goes away, thankfully time offers perspective.

April’s shift in perspective comes not only from the wise advice of her therapist to take time for herself without guilt, but an unlikely adventure in her company to Vegas. It’s perhaps a little absurd, with a rather shocking twist, but the trip is illuminating for April.

Told with wit and warmth I enjoyed Adult Conversations, I believe most mothers will relate with at least some aspect of April’s experience, and her desire to meet the needs of her family without sacrificing herself. show less

I read Adult Conversation by Brandy Ferner over Mother’s Day weekend and loved it.

April is disorganized and harried. She feels like her days are filled with constant snacks, play dates, and bedtime stories. She thinks often about the days before-before she had her children, when she and her husband had plenty of time to do the activities that they both love. Of course she loves her kids! But April wonders if she’s the only one that feels like she’s barely functioning or if other show more mothers feel the same way.

I remember feeling that way sometimes. Overtired and like my life was not my own anymore. So it was easy for me to smile and laugh my way through April’s story. In the beginning, her kids are little hellions. I just wanted April to establish some rules and make them behave at least a little bit, but honestly I’m not sure that she knew how. In the story, they were constantly all over the place, getting into things they had no business getting into and demanding attention, even when April was trying to engage with other adults. I desperately wanted April to create some order around her so her children would respect her and see that she was the one in charge. When she finally went to a counselor, I was thrilled for her.

At about the halfway point, the book turns sharply from focusing on April and her day-to-day interactions with her family to a very Thelma-and-Louise type of friendship between April and her counselor, June.

I have a hard time imagining a life where kids are so, so wild and into everything with the frequency that April’s were. It’s also fairly abnormal that a person would have a relationship like April develops with her counselor. (I’m being vague on purpose, but hello shenanigans.) I think the point of this story is that all moms DO feel this way sometimes and that it often takes real intentional work for moms to realize that they are whole, complete, 100% people outside of taking care of their families. April has to work on creating time and space for herself so she can give back to her family, and she has to work on cultivating relationships with like-minded friends.

There were a few times that April’s circumstances or conversations really kicked me in the gut. A time or two, I felt my eyes stinging a little bit from feeling so SEEN. I think other moms will feel the same way when they read this one.

I totally recommend this as a fun, light-hearted read, especially for those that are mothers to young kids and even older ones like mine. Truly, women and men who are not mothers will also find this a enjoyable read. There’s a lot of gold in here.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you, She Writes Press! show less