"Rarely has a novel touched me so deeply."—MER Review
The Many Mothers of Ivy Puddingstone
When idealism collides with reality, good intentions are cold comfort as the collateral damage mounts.
When idealism collides with reality, good intentions are cold comfort as the collateral damage mounts.
Annabel’s journey begins in 1964 when she heads to Mississippi for Freedom Summer. There, the disappearance of her first love sparks a relentless fight for justice that will define her life. Years later, she, her husband, and four other couples—and their growing families— create a political collective, sharing a sprawling Boston house they name Puddingstone.
As social upheaval reaches a boiling point, the group relocates their children to the safety of rural Vermont, far from the chaos. The parents continue their activism, rotating visits to Vermont to care for the kids.
But not all threats come from the outside. Annabel’s daughter, Ivy, longs for something more than the patchouli-scented, organic world of Vermont. She craves normalcy, but most of all, she craves Annabel’s attention. When a cataclysmic event shatters their world, Ivy is forced to reckon with the limits of her many mothers and fathers.
The Many Mothers of Ivy Puddingstone explores the fragile, tangled threads of familial love and communal bonds. Set against a backdrop of cultural upheaval from the 1960s to today, the novel follows the five couples of Puddingstone and their seven children for decades, questioning which sacrifices are worth the price.
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Click for the Spotify playlist of The Many Mothers of Ivy Puddingstone and immerse yourself in the music. Iconic artists like Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gaye, Nina Simone, The Grateful Dead, Santana, Bob Dylan, and Aretha Franklin flew onto my list, along with personal favorites who spoke to me of the times, such as Buffalo Springfield, Ben E. King, Al Green, and Nicolette Larson. (If I list them all, this will go on, on, and on. I moved from Lesley Gore to Beyonce, from familiar to more obscure.)
Signed books can be ordered at Belmont Books
Praise & Reviews
“With realistic, hard-hitting prose and a well-researched and startling setting, Meyers delivers another deeply felt, beautiful novel.“—Booklist, American Library Association
“Compelling…a timely reminder of the 1960s . . . Back we go to the years when young women read Ms. Magazine and protest marches were well attended, when switching sex partners was a topic that a group of adult friends might discuss as a valid option, and citizens could succeed at opposing highway expansion in a major American city. . . The premise is engaging, and the polished prose keeps us eagerly turning pages. —Washington Independent Review of Books
The Many Mothers of Ivy Puddingstone suggests that having parents who want to save the world can be lonely. Sometimes, a child must compete with that world for anything more than glancing attention. With a compassionate hand, Meyers explores the many manifestations of love in a flawed but eternally hopeful universe.
—Jewish Book Council
“Rarely has a novel touched me so deeply. . . . Meyers moves the story with urgency and grace between Freedom Summer and 9/11 and beyond, reminding the reader of the complicated political stew of race, class, and gender that has simmered in the past half-century.”
—MER Review, Ellen Meeropol
“..if possible, I would give it more than 5 stars. It’s one of my favorite books of 2024. This book gave me a ‘book hangover’ and I couldn’t start a new book for a few days because the characters stayed lodged in my mind long after the last page. It’s a book about mothers and daughters and how working to improve the world can cause upheavals that exist for generations.”
—Girl Who Reads
“Meyers has crafted a story that is both intimate and expansive. Told from the perspective of the two women, the book captures the unique bond between mothers and daughters, and it also captures key events of this turbulent period of American history. A beautifully written, witty and heart-warming novel of love and loss.—Reader’s Choice Book Awards, Gold Award First Place Winner
“The inhabitants of Puddingstone are idealistic, young, and sometimes misguided. Randy Susan Meyers introduces readers to her cast of fallible and lovable characters as they negotiate the turbulent social upheaval of the late 20th century. Enter their haven and prepare to be enthralled. … another feather in Meyers’ literary crown.”
—Pamela Klinger-Horn, LITERATURE LOVERS’ NIGHT OUT
“A new Randy Susan Meyers novel is always a cause for celebration! Her novels are beautifully written and full of warmth, wit, and wisdom. I’m a devoted fan!” —Liane Moriarty, NYT bestselling author of Big Little Lies
“With a clear eye and a skillful hand, Randy Susan Meyers brings us a fierce and unflinching look at all the good and bad we cause when we struggle to make the world a better place. The Many Mothers of Ivy Puddingstone starts with a story of forbidden love and brings us through the last half of the twentieth century to a stunning and unexpected end. You’ll read it fast and never forget it.—Nancy Thayer, NYT Best-selling author of The Summer We Started Over
“Randy Susan Meyers returns with a timely and exciting story of womanhood, family, and coming of age set against the turbulent background of the 1960s moving through to the present. Meyers delves into the untold strength of mothers and the unfathomable choices they face—and will have readers whipping through these pages.”
—Pam Jenoff, NYTimes bestselling author of The Diplomat’s Wife
“The Many Mothers of Ivy Puddingstone is a powerful story of the fraught bond between mothers and daughters. Against the backdrop of the explosive events of the 1960s and ‘70s, idealist Annabel struggles to balance her passions with parenthood. The perfect solution: send her daughter, Ivy, to a childhood Eden—a house in Vermont where Ivy will live with six other children and a rotating cast of mothers to govern them. However, when tragedy strikes, the families must face the dark side of their do-gooding. With a deft hand, Randy Susan Meyers seamlessly weaves in the issues of the day—from the 1960s to 2020—in this beautifully crafted novel that questions what we’re willing to sacrifice in our attempts to right the wrongs of the world. I fell in love with both Ivy and Annabel in this story, which manages to be both heart wrenching and heartwarming. A gorgeous novel that’s not to be missed.”
—Jennifer S. Brown, USA Today bestselling author of The Whisper Sister
“Would you live apart from your children if it meant you could focus on creating a better future for all children? The Many Mothers of Ivy Puddingstone explores this question from the points of view of a mother and daughter who each give the reader their side of the story in compelling scenes that will bring back memories of the ’60s and ’70s for older readers as well as portraying the effects of their early choices in contemporary settings. There are no easy answers here; social justice, familial love, and acceptance are works in progress in Randy Susan Meyers’ wise depiction of good people trying to do their best in a turbulent era. As I closed the book I wanted to go visit Puddingstone and the Roundhouse to see where the characters put their ideals into motion, and to think deeply about how things went wrong. This is a thought-provoking novel from an accomplished storyteller.”
—Alice Elliott Dark, author of Fellowship Point and In the Gloaming
“Meyer’s meticulously researched novel paints an evocative picture of 1960s activism, with its dichotomies of sacrifice and thrill, intelligence and naivete, service to others and to ego. Annabelle Cooper, like so many in the movement, brims with altruism—both for her children and for humanity. But when idealism collides with reality, good intentions are cold comfort as the collateral damage mounts. A smart, clear-eyed, incisively written novel about the tension between saving the world and caring for those we love.”
—Juliette Fay, USA Today bestselling author of The Half of It
“Randy Susan Meyers depicts the raw, fraught love between mothers and daughters with brilliant insight as she follows Annabel and Ivy within an extended chosen family committed to activism in the turbulent social movements of the twentieth century. The political and personal are one in this riveting, explosive saga loaded with a fierce and tender love that must ultimately encompass a daughter’s rage–and a mother’s guilt.”
—Lynne Hugo, author of The Language of Kin
“The hardest parts of growing up can be accepting that our parents had lives before we were born–and that their very best intentions in raising us have led to pain and anguish. Randy Susan Meyers explores these facts of life against a backdrop of political and social activism that asks us to question our motives, values, and longings. Meyers takes us across the decades and deep into the hearts of her dazzling cast of characters with her signature storytelling, compassion, and insight.”
—Elizabeth Benedict, author of Rewriting Illness: A View of My Own and The Practice of Deceit