Wild Game: My Mother, Her Secret, and Me

As an avid reader, I am always looking for a novel that goes deeply into the layers of self-exploration and self-mastery. Adrienne has accomplished this and more. It is a brilliantly written book about the mother-daughter relationship and paradigm. I wish I had this book as a young woman to read. The story is layered with exploration, compassion, empathy, and triumph!!! I could NOT put this book down. It is both a memoir containing Adrienne's story, and it reads like a novel. Many times while reading, I was just in awe of both the story and her exquisite attention to me, the reader. Brilliant. Masterful. Run, don't walk, and buy this book!!

This book was, in some ways, a very emotionally challenging book for me. It's basically a story about the author and her relationship with her self-centered and narcissistic mother. I, too had such a mother although my mother's issues were different. In some ways, this book was painful for me to read. However, I could hardly put it down and consider it to be one of the most truthful (and compassionate) memoirs I've ever read. (And I read a lot of memoirs.) The only thing that I found "wanting" was a bit more detail about how the author went from basically being a "literary nothing" to the successful co-owner/editor of a fiction magazine. This is a very unlikely thing to happen and the author gave it only one paragraph. Why? This omission is the only reason I've given this well-written and very moving memoir a four-star rather than a five-star.

With a smattering of morsels dripping with delectable juices from whatever wild game was being prepared comes a story of a mother who does the unthinkable and sacrifices her daughters youth for her own selfish desires. Malabar makes her daughter into her confidante and the keeper of all her secrets. To do this her daughter becomes a shell of what she could be, what she should be while doing her mothers bidding.A story of a girl who longs to be loved by her mother in the way she so freely loves others. A story of a mother who sees no wrong in using her young child as her secret keeper and alibi while she dives headfirst into the arms of her husbands best friend who is more than welcoming.Well written and emotional.

I can't remember the last time I read a book in one sitting. I picked it up before going to bed and did not put it aside until I finished it early next morning! It belongs with the best of its genre of honest, introspective mother-daughter relationship memoirs.This is what makes a superb memoir. To explore your life to give it meaning not only for yourself but for others. To tease through your unique complicated tapestry of human relationships to reveal the universal. I don’t know if this was the author’s intent but this is often the result when the process is honest and authentic. The author takes us through the painstaking parsing of her complicated relationship with her mother with deep reflections at every turn as she seeks to find her true purpose. In addition she shows respect for everyone who touched her life while still being brutally honest. This is how she is able to take charge and agency for her life.Anyone who has struggled with a complicated relationship will find resonance with this book. And thankfully Ms. Brodeur’s purpose is clearly to share her gift of writing to make this process more accessible. Her writing is clear, fluid, sensual, and beautiful! Her story reads like a riveting novel!Highly recommend!

Yes the beginning of this book gave me a stomachache. I worried about the monstrosity of what the mother asked so selfishly. I’m glad that the author has come to terms with the “dark gifts” her mother gave her.It is hard to be a good mom, to know when to let our children grow and separate from their parent. It is even more difficult when your parents are selfish and thoughtless.This is a hard memoir to read in that I was so astounded by mom’s behavior. Hard to pick up and difficult to keep going.Adrienne’s writing however is fluid and the story flows. I don’t think I would recommend unless you enjoy dark memoirs.

I read Wild Game one weekend where I could delve deep into the story without many distractions. As soon as I was done reading I did a deep Google search on narcissism and found Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Malabar, the mother of Adrienne Brodeur, fits the definition of this disorder to a T. How can a mother in good conscience ask her daughter to help her cover up an affair that she started with her best friend's husband?!!This story is like a bad car accident: you want to look away from the carnage, but yet you're so fascinated that you can't look away. My heart hurts for Adrienne and the weight of keeping such a huge lie to herself for such a long time. I hope that writing her story was cathartic for her, and that she was able to get the closure on this chapter of her life. I can't imagine how hard writing this must've been for her.Adrienne did an great job writing all the details about the eclectic cuisine that her mother created. This aspect of the story was fascinating and hands down my favorite part of the story.Wild Game is a heartbreaking narrative with an incomprehensible narcissist, the man she's obsessed with, and the daughter who had no choice but to keep her dirty little secret, losing herself in the process. A tougher read for me, especially since it triggered memories of my own dealings with a promiscuous parent, but I don't regret this weekend read at all.

Couldn't put it down. I read the paper copy but also listened on my way to and from work on audible. The narration is excellent and really added to the book. Plus, there's an interview with the author at the end of the audio version. Highly recommend.

Resonated with me very very much! Such wonderfully clever and precise writing of emotions and experiences. Couldn’t put it down and found it so compelling and helpful. Thank you! ✨

Good insight into the lives of people so different then your own! Well written and definitely kept you turning the pages.

Extraordinary book, exquisitely written covering being raised by a narcissistic woman.

Fascinating memoir about a mother-daughter relationship.