A good enough mother

Format:

Book

Title:

A good enough mother

Author:

Thomas, Bev author

ISBN:

9780525561255

9781984877741

Publication:

New York, New York : Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, [2019]

Physical Description:

ix, 338 pages ; 24 cm

General Note:

"Pamela Dorman Books".

Summary:

Ruth Hartland is the director of a trauma unit, a psychotherapist with years of experience, wise and respected by her peers. The mother of grown twins, she is haunted by the fact that her beautiful, difficult, fragile son Tom, a boy who never "fit in," disappeared a year and a half earlier. Enter a new patient, Dan-- unstable and traumatized-- who looks exactly like her missing son. Ruth's complicated feelings about the dissolution of her marriage and her family, about how she has failed her own boy, cloud her professional judgment. Boundaries she would never have crossed with another patient are crossed... -- adapted from jacket.

Subject(s):

Missing persons -- Fiction.

Families -- Fiction.

Trauma centers -- Fiction.

Psychotherapist and patient -- Fiction.

Mothers -- Fiction.

Twins -- Fiction.

Mothers and sons -- Fiction.

Genre:

Thrillers (Fiction)

Psychological fiction.

Fiction.

Suspense fiction.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Silver Falls Library	FIC THOMAS	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

"Taut, absorbing and psychologically astute, in A Good Enough Mother Bev Thomas combines all the tension of a thriller with the emotional resonance of a powerful family drama."
--Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train

"Perfect for fans of The Silent Patient. " --Booklist

A riveting page-turner that lets us inside the secret world of therapist and patient, where boundaries get crossed, and events spiral out of control. . .

Ruth Hartland is a psychotherapist with years of experience. But professional skill is no guard against private grief. The mother of grown twins, she is haunted by the fact that her beautiful, difficult, fragile son Tom, a boy who never "fit in," disappeared a year and a half earlier. She cannot give up hope of finding him, but feels she is living a kind of half-life, waiting for him to return.

Enter a new patient, Dan--unstable and traumatized--who looks exactly like her missing son. She is determined to help him, but soon, her own complicated feelings, about how she has failed her own boy, cloud her professional judgement. And before long, the unthinkable becomes a shattering reality....

An utterly compelling drama with a timebomb at its core, A Good Enough Mother is a brilliant, beautiful story of mothering, and how to let go of the ones we love when we must.

Author Notes

Bev Thomas was a clinical psychologist in the NHS for many years. She currently works as an organizational consultant in mental health and other services. She lives in London with her family.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

As the director of a nationally renowned trauma therapy unit, London psychotherapist Ruth Hartland, the narrator of Thomas's exceptional debut, most definitely knows better. But from her first glimpse in the waiting room of new patient Dan Griffin, when she momentarily mistakes him for her own troubled son, Tom (who disappeared a year and a half earlier at 17), she feels an instant emotional connection that will threaten her ability to maintain professional boundaries. Thomas, herself a former clinical psychologist with Britain's National Health Service, hooks the reader with Ruth's unblinking dual narratives. The first traces her doomed treatment of Dan, during which the pull to see him as a surrogate for Tom blinds her to the depth of his dysfunction and his potential for violence; the second focuses on the guilt-strewn shambles she has allowed her own life to become, including the breakdown of her marriage and estrangement from Tom's twin sister, Carolyn. Thomas melds astute psychological insight with powerful storytelling in this moving thriller. Agent: Jennifer Joel, ICM. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Review

An experienced psychotherapist's judgment is clouded by a new patient who reminds her of her missing 17-year-old son.Ruth Hartland has 25 years of service and is now an NHS Trauma Unit Director in London. The responsibility is tremendous, and her colleagues still don't know about her son Tom's disappearance more than a year ago. She couldn't stand the thought of pitying looks and doubts about her ability to cope. But she's not coping. Not really. Her marriage has fallen apart, and her relationship with Tom's twin sister, Carolyn, has frayed. So, when she meets new patient Dan Griffin, who bears a striking resemblance to Tom, she finds herself crossing vital boundaries. Dan experienced a brutal sexual assault and has been unable to cope ever since. Ruth has trouble obtaining records from his doctor, leaving critical gaps in her knowledge of his case. Dan is erratic, going from manic to thoughtful in one breath, and he attempts to push Ruth into revealing details about herself. This isn't unusual, but Ruth's practice is built on boundaries for a reason. Dan's very existence forces her to confront the events leading up to Tom's disappearance and question her abilities as a mother. Ruth obsesses over a website dedicated to the missing and relives her happiest and most harrowing moments with her troubled, sensitive son. Perhaps inevitably, an egregious lapse in judgment leads to an act of violence that changes the course of Ruth's life. Thomas expertly mines her own extensive experience as a psychologist to paint an intricate portrait of a mother in crisis who blames herself for her son's pain. Ruth's interactions with Dan and other patients are realistic and insightful, and Thomas' focus on society's expectations of mothers as well as the pressure they put on themselves will resonate. Ruth's fierce love for Tom gives the narrative its beating heart, and the conclusion strikes a hopeful note and avoids an overly neat resolution.A suspenseful and emotionally stirring debut. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Ruth Hartland is the well-respected head psychotherapist of the trauma unit at a London clinic, treating patients using the transference model, in which, within the established boundaries of the therapy session, the patient projects feelings onto the therapist. Ruth is also a mother to adult twins. One twin, Tom, disappeared a year and a half ago, and Ruth is not quite aware that she has not fully processed her grief. Then trauma patient Dan enters the clinic, and his resemblance to Tom is uncanny. Though Dan's story is different from Tom's, Ruth and Dan's therapeutic relationship quickly becomes entwined, verging on out of control. Clinical psychologist Thomas' debut is a compelling, ingenious novel about grief, love, the healing process, and what it means to mother. Realistic characters and a dynamic family relationship will have readers mourning with Ruth along her journey. The whole book is absolutely engrossing, but with the final unexpected twist, Thomas brings it home with a boom. Perfect for fans of psychological fiction, in particular Alex Michaelides' The Silent Patient (2019).--Erin Holt Copyright 2019 Booklist