B-Mother

Hillary Birdsong, living in a desolate part of Maine in 1974, is pregnant and 16. The father, a summer lover with a Manhattan pedigree, sends her $500 for an abortion and a brush-off. But somehow Hillary just can't make an appointment at the clinic. Once her parents learn of her pregnancy, they refuse to help her raise the baby and send her to a home for unwed mothers, where Hill eventually must choose a prospective family to adopt her son. Hillary's story unfolds in "B-mother," by Maureen O'Brien, who paints Hill's interior landscape as desolate as that of Maine in winter. After the adoption, Hill finishes high school and then college, but cannot seem to "move on," as her best girlfriend Shel, wants her to do. Hill feels the loss of her child the way an amputee can feel the empty space that used to occupy her pant-leg - she suffers the loss of her son palpably, obsesses about him constantly, floats in a do-nothing job without ambition. B-mother is about the power unleashed like lightning by childbirth - the emotions stirred by seeing other people's babies, the longing for a normal life in a family that cannot return to normal. It is also about the steadfast love of Shel, herself an orphan, for her best friend. As Hill grows into a woman less loveable, Shel accommodates, changes strategy, decides to love Hill just as she is. Anyone who has lost a loved one will be captivated by O'Brien's spare language and startling imagery. Anyone who has been blessed with the love and loyalty of friends who simply will not let you go will be touched by the grace of this story of a woman learning to love like a mother - both herself and the child she gave away.

This is an extremely powerful first novel by a young lady that is just older than the central character in the book. The story is one of harsh loss, very tough decisions, and of having to face adult problems at far too young an age without the support one would hope to find in a functional family. The story is of a sixteen year old pregnant girl who finds herself cut off emotionally from her parents who have just lost their son. She must make decisions regarding the baby, her life, and her future. Like all of us, she survives. But like all of us, she is forever changed by what she has undergone. Even better, perhaps, is the situation eighteen years later when she is again reunited with her son and his adoptive parents. Although not a large book, this is a book of our time and a book that marks just the introduction of what promises to be a powerful new force in the literary future of our country. The subject could well have been done as a tear jerker, but it isn't. It is a story that is tender and caring, but which also shows a harsh reality.

Ms. O'Brien does a great job of putting us in the mind of the birth mother. The character of Hillary Birdsong is believable, likable and full of ambiguities and uncertainties that we can ID with. We follow her going through the struggle and realizations as she comes to terms with the gut-wrenching decision that defines her life. It's also a very timely and relevant story with only passing references to the political and religious implications of adoption and abortion. Ms. O'Brien also has a fine command of language and description which thoroughly enrich the story. I **highly** recommend this book as a great read.

I could not wait to read Maureen O'Brien's novel b-mother each evening! It is emotional but not sappy. Wonderful characters, language and descriptions of Maine. Very insightful into the lives of birth mothers and adoptive families. Definitely one to read more than once!

When I read b-mother, I could not concentrate on anything else until I was done. It it the type of book that you will read fast because you want to know what happens, and then you will read it again, slowly, savoring the language and the relationships between the characters. b-mother is the achingly sad story of loss, of teenage angst, and of redemption. Maureen O'Brien has clearly done painstaking research on birth mothers and adoption practices, but her real skill is in capturing the emotions of a girl turned woman and her family who are torn apart by tragedy and social pressure. Any of us could have been Hilary. This is a book that will stick with me.