The Habit

About this book

There is an unmistakable gleam in Mas eye and her absolute composure both appalls me and rips my heart from its root. I burst into tears. The gauntlet is thrown.From the time she was conceived Susan Morse was her mothers "special" child. For Susan special translated into becoming her incorrigible mothers frazzled caretaker a role that continued into adulthood. Now she finds herself as part of the sandwich generation responsible for a woman whose eighty-five years have been single-mindedly devoted to identifying The Answer To Everything. And this weeks Answer looks like it may be the real thing.Susans mother is becoming a nun.Mother Brigid is opinionated and discerning (Dont call them trash cans. Theyre scrap baskets!) feisty and dogmatic (Stop signs and No Parking zones are installed by bureaucratic pencil pushers with nothing better to do) a brilliant artist (truly a saving grace) and predictably unpredictable recently demonstrated by her decision to convert to Orthodox Christianity and join its holy order. Dressed in full nun regalia she might be mistaken for a Taliban bigwig. But just as Mother Brigid makes her debut at church a debilitating accident puts her in a rehab center hours from Susans home where Susans already up to her neck juggling three teenagers hot flashes a dog two cats and a husband whose work pulls him away from the family for months at a time. Now Susan gets to find out if its less exhausting to be at her mothers beck and call from one hundred miles away or one hundred feet. And shes beginning to suspect that the things she always thought she knew about her mother were only the tip of a wonderfully singular iceberg. In this fresh funny utterly irresistible memoir Susan Morse offers readers a look at a mother-daughter relationship that is both universal and unique. For anyone whos wondered how they made it through their childhood with their sanity intact for every multitasking woman coping simultaneously with parents and children for those of us who love our parents come hell or high water (because we just cant help it) Susan Morses story is surprising reassuring and laugh-out-loud funny. A beguiling journey of love forbearance and self-discovery The Habit introduces two unforgettable women youll be glad to know-from a safe distance. "Susans epic effort to differentiate herself from the consuming power of this unique woman is every womans struggle but writ large crazy and funny." -Rosanne Cash author of Composed "Susan Morse writes in a dream state and The Habit is funny and moving and wise. After reading it youll see Susans mother in a whole new way and your own mother too." -Michael Bamberger author of The Swinger "In her portrait of her hilarious and heroic struggle with an almost impossiblemother Susan Morse has captured the mother-daughter paradox like no one else in recent memory." -Rebecca Pepper Sinkler former editor of the New York Times Book Review "Morses caustic changeable demanding smarty-pants mother is a late-life Sharon Sedaris had Sharon Sedaris lived and become an Orthodox Christian nun in her eighties and Morse herself is a crackerjack guide." -Cynthia Kaplan author of Why Im Like This "A page-turning humorous account of one womans experience during her difficult mothers turbulent journey into old age. . . . A lively testament to a complicated though loving mother-daughter relationship." -Kirkus Reviews "A sometimes searing often hilarious account of a mother-daughter relationship Hallmark probably doesnt have a card for." -Ellen Gray Philadelphia Daily News Susan Morse was educated at Williams College and has worked as an actress in L.A. and New York. She now lives in Philadelphia with her husband David and their three children. She has edited fiction although this book is nonfiction. Mostly. She promises.