Thank you Libro.fm/Recorded Books, #partner for the ALC of The Mad Wife in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the print copy for my personal collection.
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark / Recorded Books
Published: September 30, 2025
Summary:
From bestselling author Meagan Church comes a haunting exploration of identity, motherhood, and the suffocating grip of societal expectations that will leave you questioning the lives we build―and the lies we live.
They called it hysteria. She called it survival.
Lulu Mayfield has spent the last five years molding herself into the perfect 1950s housewife. Despite the tragic memories that haunt her and the weight of exhausting expectations, she keeps her husband happy, her household running, and her gelatin salads the talk of the neighborhood. But after she gives birth to her second child, Lulu’s carefully crafted life begins to unravel.
When a new neighbor, Bitsy, moves in, Lulu suspects that something darker lurks behind the woman’s constant smile. As her fixation on Bitsy deepens, Lulu is drawn into a web of unsettling truths that threaten to expose the cracks in her own life. The more she uncovers about Bitsy, the more she questions everything she thought she knew―and soon, others begin questioning her sanity. But is Lulu truly losing her mind? Or is she on the verge of discovering a reality too terrifying to accept?
In the vein of The Bell Jar and The Hours, The Mad Wife weaves domestic drama with psychological suspense, so poignant and immersive, you won’t want to put it down.
My thoughts:
I was not expecting the emotional gut-punch I got with this book. It absolutely exceeded all my expectations and then some. I kid you not, I started this and became so invested, I literally couldn’t not put it down. I have never been so emotionally invested in a book, so hung up on what was happening with the characters — I could not even imagine doing anything else until I reached the conclusion.
I knew going in that this book set in the 1950s and that it was going to deal with women being labeled hysterical, but I was not expecting it to be played out the way it did…it tore my heart out and crushed it. But, this story is also told with heart…you feel all that Lulu is going through, you cannot help but have emotions, many different emotions while reading this. This story is gripping, infuriating and heartbreaking in every way. It takes a hard look at women’s roles and what happened when they didn’t fit into what society expected of them. This is the very best of historical fiction.
This might have been my first experience reading this author but it will absolutely not be my last. I have already ordered her other two books and cannot wait to read them!
Audio thoughts:
This was fantastic on audio. The narrator, Susan Bennett, one of my favorites, puts her heart and soul into this, infusing just the right emotion when needed.
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