ALL THE MOTHERS

A single mother finds community in the most unexpected places.

Ruta’s new novel follows Sandy Walsh, a New York City 30-something fresh out of a painful relationship and grieving her mother’s death, as she meets Justin Murray, a musician, whom she likes but fears she may never love. Despite encouragement from her friends, she’s unsure if she should stay with him—and then she becomes pregnant. Once she decides to keep the baby, she notices that her friends—many of whom are married and had been trying to get pregnant for years—are not only unsupportive, but downright cruel. Ruta writes beautifully about Sandy’s decision to have her daughter, Rosie, which was made with equal parts grief and love: “the love of two invisible people, someone who wasn’t there anymore, and someone who wasn’t there yet.” Between Justin’s oscillating support and her own father’s lack of interest in her daughter, Sandy struggles to adjust not only to motherhood, but to a type of motherhood she never imagined. After a slip from Tara, Justin’s standoffish mother, Sandy—a masterful social media sleuth—discovers that Justin has another child, 8-year-old Ashley. Justin’s ex Stephanie, who had Ash when she was 18, lives with her parents on Staten Island while she gets her Ph.D. in psychology. Despite what Justin and Tara say about Stephanie—she’s “a nightmare. A witch. She’d make our lives hell if we let her”—Sandy reaches out to her, and the two mothers decide to meet so their children can get to know each other, discovering they have far more in common with each other than with Justin. Eventually, they move in together with their children, and begin to create a relationship, family, and life that defies categorization. Though the novel is densely plotted, the real marvel is the beautifully drawn characters, who are realized with tremendous depth. Ruta skillfully sketches the complexities and struggles of single motherhood, especially as it relates to financial precarity and the importance of cultivating joy and community.

A perfectly charming and complex ode to mothers and found families.