The Mommy Club

Texas Quartet #3

by Sarah Bird

At thirty-eight, Trudy Herring is a dreamer, a sculptor of whimsical clay figures, and a permanent temporary worker at the San Antonio Museum of Folk Art. But all that changes when she agrees to incubate a child for Hillary Goettler (her boss) and Hillary's husband. Trudy moves into their mansion and is instantly thrust into a luxurious world she's never known before.

While Hillary opines that parenthood is simply a 'time-management problem,' Trudy is forced to consume noxiously healthy meals in a home where the decor changes faster than a Neiman Marcus window display. As her body warms to the other life inside, Trudy begins to long for her old flame, Sinclair Coker, 'a freelance mystic with a lot of enthusiasm for the carnal.'

The quest to satisfy her cravings leads Trudy to discover that it takes a lot more than war stories about childbirth and potty training for a woman to qualify for true membership in 'the mommy club.'

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Novels, Womens, Humor

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Sarah Bird is a bestselling novelist, screenwriter, essayist, and journalist who has lived in Austin, Texas since long before the city became internationally cool. She has published ten novels and two books of essays. Her eleventh novel, LAST DANCE ON THE STARLITE PIER--a gripping tale set in the secret world of the dance marathons of the Great Depression--will be released on April 12th.

Her last novel, DAUGHTER OF A DAUGHTER OF A QUEEN--inspired by the true story of the only woman to serve with the legendary Buffalo Soldiers--was named an All-time Best Books about Texas by the Austin American-Statesman; Best Fiction of 2018, Christian Science Monitor; Favorite Books of 2018, Texas Observer; a One City, One Book choice of seven cities; and a Lit Lovers Book Club Favorites.

Sarah was a finalist for The Dublin International Literary Award; an ALEX award winner; Amazon Literature Best of the Year selection; a two-time winner of the TIL’s Best Novel award; a B&N’s Discover Great Writers selection; a New York Public Libraries Books to Remember; an honoree of theTexas Writers Hall of Fame; an Amazon Literature Best of the Year selection; a Dobie-Paisano Fellowship; and an Austin Libraries Illumine Award for Excellence in Fiction winner. In 2014 she was named Texas Writer of the Year by the Texas Book Festival and presented with a pair of custom-made boots on the floor of the Texas Senate Chamber.

Sarah is a nine-time winner of Austin Best Fiction Writer award. She was recently honored with the University of New Mexico’s 2020 Paul Ré Award for Cultural Advocacy. In 2015 Sarah was one of eight winners selected from 3,800 entries to attend the Meryl Streep Screenwriters’ Lab. Sarah was chosen in 2017 to represent the Austin Public Library as the hologram/greeter installed in the Austin Downtown Library. Sarah was a co-founder of The Writers League of Texas.

She has been an NPR Moth Radio Hour storyteller; a writer for Oprah’s Magazine, NY Times Sunday Magazine and Op Ed columns, Chicago Tribune, Real Simple, Mademoiselle, Glamour, Salon, Daily Beast, Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, MS, Texas Observer; Alcalde and a columnist for years for Texas Monthly. As a screenwriter, she worked on projects for Warner Bros., Paramount, CBS, National Geographic, Hallmark, ABC, TNT, as well as several independent producers.

She and her husband enjoy open-water swimming and training their corgi puppy not to eat the furniture.

Reviews

[Katie Harder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up in the lily-white suburbs of San Antonio, and I blamed the whole city for my bored, disappointed existence. Only as an adult was I permitted to explore the bolder, sweeter enclaves of the city. Even then, I never had the joy of experiencing this city quite the way Trudy describes it. Probably, I was never really a native of this city, only a visitor; I really belong to the tribes of the suburbs. That said, the magically real San Antonio that Sarah Bird constructs makes me long for a youth I never had. The descriptions are so lush, and Trudy is so sweetly naive; I just want to be her, pregnant, dreaming, trailing along in a Fiesta parade, covered in paper flowers. One of my favorite books of all time.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not the light, fluffy, chick lit read the title (or even the description on the back) leads you to believe. Even though it was not the type of read I was expecting it was still quite good. The writing was so vivid, when she felt the baby move in her I was flooded with memories of that stage of pregnancy. When she was laying in bed so depressed she couldn't open her eyes, I was thrown back to the saddest days I've had. A ver very well written piece, but not what I was expecting from the title and cover.

[Kevin Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah Bird came to our attention with The Boyfriend School, and the HBO film Don't Tell Her It's Me, with Steve Guttenburg and Shelley Long, which is based on the last section of the book.

The Mommy Club is the first person narrative of a surrogate mother, with flash backs behind, and a narrative flow that revisits characters from the past, to view their unexpected transformations and to experience how those changes influence the growth and choices made by the narrator. It's not the kind of book I usually pick for myself, but remains one of my favorites. Powerful, beautifully written, and profound.

[Mmckinnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the last book she wrote, but I really did not enjoy this one much. The references to the city of San Antonio were neat if you are familiar with the city. However, the plot was very thin. I found the main character very hard to like. The situaion that she got herself in was very unbelievable and very hard to sympathize with. It annoys me when plots are too unrealistic.

[Whitaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really great book shows us how everything is great and worth to die for

[Rina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by someone who told me how much she likes this author and this story. Wish I could agree. I hope she can enlighten me as to why she thinks this. I did not particularly care for the main character or even the secondary ones. Maybe I'm being judgmental but I felt that they were insipid and shallow. The plot was very good and the author took that to a fairly good level. The ending, eh!

[Laura M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kept waiting for it to be funny, as promised on the book jacket. It wasn't.

[Monica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was not a fan of the character, or the plot. It was hard for me to root for our protagonist, or genuinely like her. I did feel that author depicted the pains of childbirth vividly and relatable.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book to read while I was visiting in San Antonio, Texas. It takes place there. Sarah Bird did a great job of relating to the locale which I always enjoy while I'm traveling. I was extremely impressed with the story and the characters that she developed. A woman decides to act as a surrogate mother and reflects on how she got to where she is. Again, interesting characters and real action right in San Antonio. I am pleasantly surprised to recommend and would read another of her books without traveling to Texas!

[Nettle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given that at one time I was thinking about moving to San Antonio, I loved the insiders view of the city this book provides...but I'm a sucker for finely detailed settings. I was also carried along by the story--a woman carrying a baby for her employer--while also longing to slap some sense into both the protagonist and the woman who is exerting ownership of the baby in her womb. A funny, sharply drawn, affecting story of pregnancy, motherhood, and class warfare in a particular place and culture.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel the need to justify my 3 stars as this is classed as your typical "chick lit." I picked it up on a whim at a thrift store for 50 cents. I found myself laughing out loud at some of her takes on pregnancy, culture and life. Though many plot points were contrived, I found myself liking the characters and the way she developed them. They were not as flat as one would expect from a "fluff" piece.

[Sharmyn (Lumsden) Lilly]

Another great Sarah Bird novel. Set in San Antonio (where I've lived) and concerning getting pregnant, pregnancy, and having a child (which I've not), I found it just as riveting as the other Sarah Bird books I've read (and I've loved them all). Sarah Bird is a great novelist. If you haven't read her books, do so now!

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was sold to me as "hilarious," but it didn't make me laugh. It's a nice light read, and is funny I suppose if you enjoy exaggerated tales of pregnancy woes. I did read it through to the end though and was glad I did since the ending is quite touching.

[tenderfoot]

re-read 2003

[Nancy Loe · Rating 1 out of 5]

A disappointment after Bird's prior hilarious novel Alamo House.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story of a quirky young woman who became a surrogate for her employer and her husband...colorful characters and story.

[Miquela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dated and kind of sad. Not the best of Sarah Bird.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for my ethics in healthcare class last January. The book is about a fictional story involving the issue of surrogacy. I enjoyed the read.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book even though I found pretty much all the characters unadmirable. I loved recognizing so much about San Antonio.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, light. Great if you know anything about San Antonio.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liked that it was based in Texas (San Antonio) and that I read it while pregnant (could relate to much of the narrator's cravings, exhaustion, etc.), but ultimately didn't like the way it ended.

[Ilene · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far, I've really enjoyed this book. The main character is into crafts, the descriptions of her projects and home are funny.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have reread the story a couple of times. I would've liked to of known however, what happened to the baby girl at the end of the story.

[Sue Kozlowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trudy in San Antonio decides to be a surrogate mother for Hillary and Victor. But then she wants to get back together with Sinclair. She gives the baby to them but then gets it back.

[Jen O · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story!