Motherline

You know those days in a family--weddings, funerals, births--when everyone comes together and all that history and garbage fester and boil and sometimes explode? Well, this is one of those days. Maggie is in labor. When the first contractions ripple across her belly, she has no idea what to expect. She knows what she wants. She wants that perfect birth from the movies, with her family gathered around, welcoming her baby, helping her become the perfect mother. More than anything, though, she wants her mother to be there for her, but relationships between mothers and daughters are often complicated. Her husband Sam would do anything for Maggie, but as their families converge on the hospital for this birth, he can't keep the craziness at bay. Through a series of flashbacks, as well as events in the labor room, Maggie digs more deeply into her painful past. Memories bubble to the surface, forcing her to re-examine the tragic accident that killed her baby brother. Relationships between mothers and daughters are often complicated. But in order to learn what it means to be a mother, Maggie finally has to face her own mother, and find a way to both forgive and be forgiven.

You know those days in a family--weddings, funerals, births--when everyone comes together and all that history and garbage fester and boil and sometimes explode? Well, this is one of those days. Maggie is in labor. When the first contractions ripple across her belly, she has no idea what to expect. She knows what she wants. She wants that perfect birth from the movies, with her family gathered around, welcoming her baby, helping her become the perfect mother. More than anything, though, she wants her mother to be there for her, but relationships between mothers and daughters are often complicated. Her husband Sam would do anything for Maggie, but as their families converge on the hospital for this birth, he can't keep the craziness at bay. Through a series of flashbacks, as well as events in the labor room, Maggie digs more deeply into her painful past. Memories bubble to the surface, forcing her to re-examine the tragic accident that killed her baby brother. Relationships between mothers and daughters are often complicated. But in order to learn what it means to be a mother, Maggie finally has to face her own mother, and find a way to both forgive and be forgiven.

Lisa Rosen is currently a stay-at-home mom with a bad case of wanderlust. As soon as their teenagers leave the nest, she and her husband intend to take their laptops on the road full-time. In the interim, she lives and writes in North Carolina, where she earned a PhD in literature from the University of North Carolina.