The Bad Mother'S Handbook: A Novel

BAD MOTHER RULE #1: NEVER, EVER, DO WHAT I DID!For seventeenyearold Charlotte Cooper, its too late. Despite her best efforts to finish school, tune out her angry, slightly hysterical mother, and cope with her loving but dotty grandmother, she is unexpectedly (now thats an understatement) pregnant. And dont even mention the jerk who knocked her up.Charlottes mother, Karen, is trying to convince herself that there are worse things than becoming a grandmother at thirtythree. For instance, theres wanting to kill Charlotte for the mess shes made of her life. Between struggling to pay the bills and halfheartedly filling out questionnaires on Internet dating sites, Karen uncovers a scandalous family secret involving her own birth, and then falls back into bed with her sexy exhusband. So much for perfect timing.In the meantime, Karens mother, Nan, is having a wee bit of trouble with names (sometimes her own). But that doesnt keep her from retaining a few things shed rather forget. Of course, Nan knows that everything will work out fine for Charlotte and the babythese things usually do. Now, if only she could put the pieces of her own fragmented memory together, she might have an interesting tale or two to share.In this wickedly funny, disarmingly moving novel, three generations of mothers learn that its the simplest mistakes that can change your life forever. With wit and wisdom, Kate Long proves that there are as many kinds of mothers as there are daughters, but the love that binds them all is what truly matters.