How Lulu Lost Her Mind

April 15, 2020
Lou Ann, otherwise known as the advice celebrity Lulu the Love Guru, is thrown for a loop when her dementia-afflicted mother, Patricia, is kicked out of yet another nursing home for her passionate nature. When Patricia tells Lou Ann that she wants to return to her ancestral home in Louisiana, Lou Ann puts her fancy life on hold to make it happen. The two women, with paid help, manage to get by in the crumbling plantation house. Lou Ann helps her mother remember some of her past, and tries to navigate Patricia's increasingly difficult moods. Simon, a local contractor, provides some assistance with the home and friendship for Lou Ann with the possibility of more. The story moves slowly through Patricia's final months as Gibson (The Art of Running in Heels, 2017) orchestrates a realistic dynamic between mother and daughter and captures the sadness of losing someone right before your eyes. Many funny and tender moments help readers enjoy the characters (though the cast has little diversity), and the situation makes for an excellent women's-fiction title for book discussions.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)