Author: Fiona Higgins

The Mothers’ Group provides enough ‘aha’ moments of recognition to make even the most sleep-deprived mum smile.

This debut novel from Fiona Higgins (author of the memoir Love in the Age of Drought) covers the full spectrum of the parenting experience.

It is set in Sydney’s Northern Beaches and follows the lives of six very different mums who are thrown together in the same mothers’ group—insert conflict here.

The book is divided into six sections, each detailing the life of one of the characters. There’s workaholic Ginie; Balinese immigrant Made; Suzie, a single mother; Pippa, who suffers postnatal depression; Cara, whose marriage is teetering on the brink; and Miranda, the unfortunate stepmum.

The novel tracks the women’s individual journeys and the group’s collective one as they navigate birth and motherhood as well as the shifting ground of their relationships with their partners.
 
The Mothers’ Group eschews what Higgins calls ‘the Eat, Pray, Love happy ending’ but still provides a hopeful, albeit unflinching conclusion.

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