A smart, fast, funny take on mother-daughter relationships, boyfriend-girlfriend disasters, and the career-girl blues.

Meet Claire McLeod, a twenty-something American girl living in Portland, Oregon. Claire's got big problems: her mother's a tyrant, her sister's a lesbian, and her father's in Omaha.

Claire's peaceful, if dull, existence is shattered when her mother arrives in Portland for an unexpected--and unwelcome--visit. Armed with a sharp tongue, a critical eye, and enough Weekender Wear to make anyone nervous, Mom has mysteriously left Dad at home in the Midwest. It's not enough that Claire's job as a telephone survey-taker is excruciatingly irritating and her boyfriend has dumped her. No, now, embarrassed by her dead-end job and flatlining love life, she must also bear the weightof Mom's critical eagle eye while trying to close the rift between her mother and her sister, solve the riddle of her missing father, climb a shaky corporate ladder, stalk a cute coworker, reinvent herself, and maybe--just maybe--find a little happiness.

By turns tender and insightful--but always hilariously funny--sMothering is a novel you can't put down.

Wendy French's profile page

Wendy French was raised in Vancouver, Canada, where her parents unwittingly cursed her writing career by providing a happy and stable childhood. In an effort to overcome her unfortunate beginnings, she sought artistic torment at the University of Victoria, but despair eluded her. Hoping for worse luck south of the border, she moved to Portland, Oregon, with her husband, but happiness continued to stalk her, day and night. Finally, she conceded defeat, abandoned her quest for misery, and began writing humorous women's fiction. sMothering is her first novel.

"French's prose is smart and sharp, her humor understated, real and funny."

"French asks deeper questions about trust and boundaries while deftly offering up all the usual delights."

"Unexpectedly poignant. . . . the emotions ring true."

"Wendy French's debut is a mother of a novel."--Valerie Frankel, author ofThe Accidental Virgin onsMothering

"Fabulous, funny, and rings frighteningly true!"--Melissa Senate, author ofSee Jane Date andThe Solomon Sisters Wise Up onsMothering

"Unexpectedly poignant. . . . the emotions ring true."--Entertainment Weekly onsMothering

"This one's a hoot."--The Seattle Times onsMothering

"French's prose is smart and sharp, her humor understated, real and funny."--January Magazine onsMothering

"This debut is warm, tender and more substantive than most of its type. . . . Female readers of all ages should relate. . . . French's novel stands out from its fluffy chick-lit sisters with a snappy humor, charged family dynamics and a plot twist that will throw readers for a loop."--Publishers Weekly onsMothering

"French asks deeper questions about trust and boundaries while deftly offering up all the usual delights: acid wit, farcical misunderstandings and plot twists, and a few existential questions about moving up versus selling out."--Booklist onsMothering

"Smoothly written first outing and, all told, really pretty amusing."--Kirkus Reviews onsMothering