Wild Game

In the heart of the story, My Mother, Her Lover, and Me’, the memoir of Adrienne Brodeur, an extraordinary tale of a mother-daughter bond, its beautiful complications, and unexpected consequences blossom. Drawn with delicacy and honesty, the narrative sweeps through the lifetime of the author, laying bare the events that shaped her identity and perceptions. Brodeur’s life, from the tender age of 14, was mired in her mother Malabar’s complex world. When Malabar confided in her about her affair with Ben, her husband’s best friend, the adolescent Brodeur was pulled into a vortex of secrecy and manipulation, a role she never asked for, but nonetheless was handed down to her. As the voice of her own narrative, Adrienne Brodeur relates the surreal yet strikingly real episodes of her life. Accompanying her, lending depth to the narrative, Julia Whelan, a seasoned audiobook narrator, amplifies the emotional rollercoaster that the author lives through. Ben, a central character in this clandestine affair, was Malabar’s object of obsession, and a man she simply couldn’t resist. This love affair, nurtured in secrecy, perpetuated an emotionally incestuous relationship between the mother and daughter. It was a convoluted entanglement that only escalated with time, a cycle that both appalled and attracted Brodeur. It was not until her own adulthood that Brodeur finally managed to extricate herself from this perilous entanglement. Even so, it left its indelible imprints upon her psyche, shaping her relationship with her mother, her self-image, and her perspective of love and relationships. Malabar, the charismatic and dynamic mother, was a magnetic personality, both beguiling and daunting. Her overpowering presence and influence upon her daughter’s life often cast long shadows, blurring the lines between right and wrong, love and manipulation. As an accomplice to her mother’s affair, Brodeur was exposed to an emotional burden no child should bear, but it was through this chaos that she found her strength, her resilience, and ultimately her freedom. ‘Wild Game’ is a remarkable story of familial relationships, morality, and the courage to redefine one’s identity. It delves deep into the exploration of the human psyche and its ability to survive even the most twisted circumstances. With a similar prowess, Adrienne Brodeur has also authored other poignant narratives like ‘Man Camp’ and ‘House of Sand and Fog’, the latter of which has been adapted into a film. Both novels are available on Audible, Man Camp and House of Sand and Fog. Each narrative provides a unique exploration of human emotions, relationships, and moral dilemmas, masterfully threaded with Brodeur’s compelling storytelling.