Julia Schaffer

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The Mad Wife

by Meagan Church (Goodreads Author)

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Julia Schaffer said: " The story follows the inner monologue of Lulu, a 1950s housewife, as she tries surviving the transition from farm girl to suburban mother/wife in an era when women's mental (&physical) health was dismissed under the stereotype category of the "hyster The story follows the inner monologue of Lulu, a 1950s housewife, as she tries surviving the transition from farm girl to suburban mother/wife in an era when women's mental (&physical) health was dismissed under the stereotype category of the "hysterical woman" and bodily autonomy was sacrificed to husband choices.

This book was a maddening, eye opening, frustrating read that really places you into the thoughts and psychological descent of its protagonist. I LOVE an unreliable narrator and found her observations to be intriguing, sad, confusing, and embarrassing. Church, through Lulu, was able to drag the reader through a multitude of emotions while making the story feel real and the stakes feel high. As a new physician, learning about the history of medical practices, physician interactions, and outdated prescriptions is as fascinating as it is absolutely horrifying. Sometimes, I find myself in practice getting frustrated by patients hesitancy to trust scientific medicine and books like this pull me back to the realities many women have faced and still continue to face when interacting with healthcare and why we have to fight so hard to earn trust that has been rightfully lost (and this isn't even including socioeconomic and racial intersectionality).

As a fan of sylvia plath, you can see a lot of the influence pulled from works like the bell jar. The story pulls from the yellow wallpaper and virginia woolf as well.

**SPOILERS**
From the medical standpoint, I was incredibly disappointed in the home physician and psychiatrists approach to bedside manner and their dismissive attitude towards the protagonist, their absence of any understand of HIPAA when discussing things with her husband, and the absolutely wild prescriptions such as BENZOS for depression.

This book serves as a reminder of the privileges we have today due to the hard work women's activists of the past have done to get us the life we have now. I was incredibly frustrated with Henry and her forgiveness of his absolute disregard for her autonomy and choice. It served as a stark reminder of how little autonomy women were granted.

Overall, a great read despite some parts that felt a little slow. i found it an important read and would recommend it. ...more "

Aug 07, 2026 11:31AM · see review