Gwendolen Gross, author of The Other Mother, to Speak at East Brunswick Public Library

Come to the East Brunswick Public Library to hear Gwendolen Gross speak about her new motherhood novel, The Other Mother on May 6, 2008 8:00pm (free event).

Gwendolen Gross’ novel, The Other Mother, is described by Booklist as "an electrifyingly complex and explosively gripping portrait of contemporary, have-it-all motherhood" and is the selection of four national book clubs.

The Other Mother has been featured in the New York Daily News, the Toronto Star, Redbook, OK! Magazine, and on National Public Radio. The Other Mother was selected as a best Jersey book of 2007 by Jersey Writers, a best book of the year by the RoleMommy blog, a book of the week on Amazon, and is on the Amazon bestsellers list (Women’s Friendship).

The Mom Gadget Blog says that The Other Mother "captures the truest most vulnerable times any mother has experienced, as one mother struggles with the fact that all her kids will soon be attending school -- while the other struggles with returning to work with a newborn at home ... The characters are so believable and are sure to leave a lasting impression, long after the final page has been turned."

The Other Mother is available at Amazon and in bookstores.

In connection with the book, Ms. Gross, an award-winning writing instructor, is offering a free online writing workshop for moms. In this interactive forum, mothers write stories inspired by their experiences and choices. Gross says, “I started this writing workshop encourage women to explore the meaning of motherhood through writing, and to share their experiences in hopes of better understanding each other.”

Gwendolen Gross is the author of the novels Field Guide, Getting Out, and most recently, The Other Mother. She graduated from Oberlin College, received an MFA in fiction and poetry from Sarah Lawrence College, and was selected for the PEN West Emerging Writers Fellowship. In addition to her novels, Ms. Gross has published poems and stories in dozens of literary magazines, as well as essays in collections including It's A Boy: Women Writers on Raising Sons and It's A Girl: Women Writers on Raising Daughters. Ms. Gross lives in northern New Jersey with her family.

Event Details

East Brunswick Public Library
2 Jean Walling Civic Center
East Brunswick, NJ 08816
Tel: 732-390-6950
May 6, 2008, 8:00pm, Free
Sponsored by The Friends of the East Brunswick Public Library

Learn more about East Brunswick, New Jersey: East Brunswick Township, East Brunswick Public Schools, East Brunswick Public Schools - Adult and Community Education Programs, and Middlesex County.

East Brunswick Township borders South River and the Sayreville on the east; Old Bridge Township on the southeast; Spotswood and Helmetta on the south; Monroe Township and South Brunswick Township on the southwest; North Brunswick Township and Milltown on the northwest; and New Brunswick and Edison Township on the north. (Source: Wikipedia, East Brunswick New Jersey Geography)

Desperate Housewives?

Cara Seitchek of Writers Revealed interviews Gwendolen Gross

CS: I noticed that one of the jacket blurbs refers to your characters as desperate housewives ...
GG: I started writing The Other Mother in 1999—quite a while before Desperate Housewives! When the show came out and was a hit I thought—they’ll have to buy my book now! I think The Other Mother could make for great TV...

Read the full interview at Writers Revealed

Which side you’re on in the Mommy Wars is really simple, right?

In Mom Writers Literary Magazine, Jennifer Brown reviews The Other Mother. Here is a short quote from her review entitled "Which Mother are You?"

Gross has a beautiful literary voice and the characters are real, and in their own ways, subtly amazing. Things happen that both stun the reader and seem right in place. The Other Mother was a book I looked forward to picking up every night.

Read the full review in Mom Writers Literary Magazine.

The Other Mother breaks into Amazon Bestseller List

During this holiday season, The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross is one of Amazon's best selling books about motherhood. Here is a recent snapshot showing The Other Mother breaking into the top five bestseller's list for women's fiction novels in the friendship category.

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,860 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:

#4 Books > Literature and Fiction > Women's Fiction > Friendship

And, at the same time, this new motherhood novel is in the top 25 in Amazon's list of most popular mysteries and thrillers.

#21 Books > Mystery and Thrillers > Thrillers > Psychological and Suspense

Happy holidays from Gwendolen Gross

Q: Do you think there will ever be a time where, like men, women don't have to "choose"?

"Q. [The Other Mother] alternates between the thoughts of two mothers, each living a very different lifestyle. The characters make assumptions about one another that aren't always accurate. How often do you believe we do that, as women: judge one another based on external lifestyle, filling in the blanks based on appearance?"

Read Gwendolen Gross' response and the full interview here from Gina Hannah's interview with Gwendolen Gross at "The Parent Trak: Balancing Family, Work, and Everything Else" in the online edition of the Huntsville Times.

"Don’t tell me that you never listened in to your neighbors on the baby monitor. I don’t believe you..."

Jersey Writers at NJ.com Features The Other Mother: Maureen Berzok of Jersey Writers ( NJ.com) says:"Well, has this one [The Other Mother] caught your interest yet? The predicament of the working mom who sacrifices time with her kid to provide for her kid. Top that with putting another woman in the house! Fires, dead animals, 'his arm,' Lyndhurst. Now there's New Jersey for you."

My Life As It Is blog book review of The Other Mother: A Novel

Today's featured book review of The Other Mother: A Novel by Gwendolen Gross is from the mom blog "My Life As It Is."

“I’m speechless. I have too much to say. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know where to begin. But there is so much to say. The book [The Other Mother] was amazing. ... As the story continues we truly get to know both Moms. OMG – I loved them both. I hated them both. I wanted to hug them both. I wanted to shake them both. I wanted to crawl into the pages and bang THEIR heads together. There was so much of ME in both of them.”

— My Life As It Is

To read the full book review of this new motherhood novel, visit the mom blog: My Life As It Is.

"The Other Mother: A Novel" Now Available on Amazon's New Portable Reader Called "Kindle"

Just announced today, Amazon is introducing the new portable wireless reader called Kindle. And, The Other Mother: A Novel by Gwendolen Gross is available as a Kindle Book (E-book) that can be downloaded in under one minute and is priced at $9.99.

According to Amazon, "Three years ago, we set out to design and build an entirely new class of device—a convenient, portable reading device with the ability to wirelessly download books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers. The result is Amazon Kindle."

There are more than 88,000 Kindle books available. In addition, there are Kindle versions major U.S. and international newpapers and magazines such as Time and Forbes. You can read reviews of Kindle here.

"Motherhood seems to trigger a biological urge to judge other females." - USA Today reviews The Other Mother

USA Today - in the Mommy Lit Book Roundup - reviews The Other Mother saying “The Other Mother belongs in a new fiction genre: mommy-war lit. Mothers of infants through the kindergarten set will find it compelling — be they stay-at-home mothers or working.”

“Author Gwendolen Gross' best insights are into how the two women's own childhoods and moms have shaped their choices. And how motherhood seems to trigger a biological urge to judge other females.”

"This Mama’s Trip" Reviews The Other Mother

Here is an excerpt from the "This Mama's Trip" review of The Other Mother.

"I LOVED this book [The Other Mother]. For me, the best part of this book was the look inside the stay at home mom's house. Since I work full time and always have, I have no idea what it would be like to be a stay at home mom. This book gave me a glimpse into this life."

Oberlin Graduate Author Featured in Lorain County Ohio Newspaper

Gwendolen Gross, author of the recently released novel The Other Mother, is featured in the October 24, 2007 edition of Chronicle Telegram newspaper of Lorain County, Ohio.

In this article by Cindy Leise, Ms. Gross describes her experiences at Oberlin College, in the publishing industry, and as a writer.

Here is the article link to the Chronicle Telegram piece: "Oberlin grad a hit in literary world"): http://www.chroniclet.com/2007/10/24/oberlin-grad-a-hit-in-literary-world/

New Novel -- The Other Mother -- Explores Meaning of Motherhood

Newly released by Crown Books, The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross is a compelling novel about conflicts between working moms and stay at home moms as well as the constant push and pull of contemporary motherhood. This new novel is a selection of four national book clubs. The Other Mother “paints an electrifyingly complex and explosively gripping portrait of contemporary, have-it-all motherhood” says Booklist. This new novel takes both sides of the mommy wars, asking working moms and stay at home moms to look closely at why they identify with one side or the other. Dame Magazine writes “The Other Mother is a dark look into everything that tears us apart and brings us closest together.”

There is a sharp divide between working moms and stay at home moms according to recent research. A Pew survey finds that 44% of stay at home moms say an increase in working moms is bad for society. In a national iVillage survey, 50% of women said that stay at home moms and working moms have a difficult time relating to one another. A recent poll by Parenting magazine finds that the number one topic that makes moms feel most judgmental is working versus staying at home.

Book reviews of The Other Mother describe how the novel speaks to this tension between stay at home and working moms. Publisher's Weekly says that The Other Mother “documents the front lines of the Mommy Wars, but its real strength lies is exposing the complex inner battlefields motherhood can open up.” National Public Radio calls The Other Mother “a thoughtful, multi-faceted look at what divides and unites mothers.”

Gross’ novel leads mothers to explore their own choices about balancing work and family, the joy of motherhood, and feelings of guilt, resentment, and regret. The Mom Blog 5MinutesForMom writes, “Because of the neutral tone and the way this book addresses the issues that all moms face, this would be a great book club selection.” The Other Mother is a featured selection of the Redbook Book Club, and a featured alternate selection of the Book of the Month Club, the Literary Guild Book Club, and the Doubleday Book Club.

More information about the iVillage poll “What Moms are Thinking Now” and the Parenting Magazine survey “Mom Confessions: Mom vs. Mom.”