The Rest of Her Life

Julia Gibson performs the role of the unappealing Leigh Churchill, mother of popular high school senior Kara. Leigh is as maladjusted as her daughter is well adjusted. When Kara accidentally hits and kills a pedestrian, Leigh longs to support her daughter, but she finds she can't be the fantasy mom she'd like to be. Gibson presents Leigh's needs and reticence with a continuous whine that makes the listener wish she were more likable. Her husband's matter-of-fact tones effectively contrast the two parents. The listener is finally won over upon coming to an understanding of Lee's past. Gibson's portrayal of Leigh's cold mother and the callous responses of community members to her speak volumes about the person Leigh has become. S.W. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

June 11, 2007
Moriarty's follow-up to book-group favorite The Center of Everything
again explores a tense, fragile mother-daughter relationship, this time finding sharper edges where personal history and parenting meet. Now a junior high school English teacher married to a college professor, Leigh has spent much of her adult life trying to distance herself from her dysfunctional childhood. Raising their two children in a small, safe Kansas town not far from where Leigh and her troubled sister, Pam, were raised by their single mother, Leigh finds her good fortune still somewhat empty. Daughter Kara, 18 and a high school senior, is distant; sensitive younger son Justin is unpopular; Leigh can't seem to reach either—Kara in particular sees Leigh (rightly) as self-absorbed. When Kara accidentally hits and kills another high school girl with the family's car, Leigh is forced to confront her troubled relationship with her daughter, her resentment toward her husband (who understands Kara better) and her long-buried angst about her own neglectful mother. The intriguing supporting characters are limited by not-very-likable Leigh's POV, but Moriarty effectively conveys Leigh's longing for escape and wariness of reckoning.

October 15, 2007
It's the dream of every woman who had a troubled relationship with her mother that her relationship with her own daughter will be different, and Leigh's mother, who left Leigh to fend for herself when she was 16 years old, was certainly no role model. Unfortunately, though raised with love, care, and the financial security of an upper-middle class lifestyle, 18-year-old Kara has never been close to her mom. So when Kara, driving inattentively, accidentally kills another high school girl, past and present begin to merge in Leigh's distraught mind. While the first half of the novel is excellent, the second half is studded with what seem like unavoidable clichs. Moriarty ("The Center of Everything") can't seem to get out of her own way; it's almost as if she's repeating information straight out of self-help books. Then there's the larger problem of transferring a novel this slowly paced to audio. Julia Gibson's narration is spirited, but Moriarty's sense of language is not well crafted enough to be fully absorbing. Recommended for larger collections.Rochelle Ratner, formerly with "Soho Weekly News", New York

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.