In The Rest of Her Life, Laura Moriarty delivers a luminous, compassionate, and provocative look at how mothers and daughters with the best intentions can be blind to the harm they do to one another.
Leigh is the mother of high-achieving, popular high school senior Kara. Their relationship is already strained for reasons Leigh does not fully understand when, in a moment of carelessness, Kara makes a mistake that ends in tragedy—the effects of which not only divide Leigh's family, but polarize the entire community. We see the story from Leigh's perspective, as she grapples with the hard reality of what her daughter has done and the devastating consequences her actions have on the family of another teenage girl in town, all while struggling to protect Kara in the face of rising public outcry.
Like the best works of Jane Hamilton, Jodi Picoult, and Alice Sebold, Laura Moriarty's The Rest of Her Life is a novel of complex moral dilemma, filled with nuanced characters and a page-turning plot that makes readers ask themselves, "What would I do?"
Julia Gibson performs the role of the unappealing Leigh Churchill, mother of popular high school senior Kara. Leigh is as maladjusted as her daughter is well adjusted. When Kara accidentally hits and kills a pedestrian, Leigh longs to support her daughter, but she finds she can't be the fantasy mom she'd like to be. Gibson presents Leigh's needs and reticence with a continuous whine that makes the listener wish she were more likable. Her husband's matter-of-fact tones effectively contrast the two parents. The listener is finally won over upon coming to an understanding of Lee's past. Gibson's portrayal of Leigh's cold mother and the callous responses of community members to her speak volumes about the person Leigh has become. S.W. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
About the Author
Laura Moriarty received her master's degree from the University of Kansas, and was awarded the George Bennett Fellowship for Creative Writing at Phillips Exeter Academy. Her first novel was The Center of Everything. She lives in Lawrence, Kansas.
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