The Mother of All Calamities

De: Lisa Moule

Narrado por: Aimee Horne

A relatable, humorous, and heartfelt take on contemporary parenting culture, exposing the cracks behind the Instagram gloss.

In Greengully, the perfect suburb with perfect parents, nothing is quite as it seems. Chrissy, the teacher who always has the answers, can't understand why her clueless male colleague just scored the job she deserved. Jenny, the perennial class mum, is desperate to hide her son's escalating behaviour from the other parents. Estelle insists her daughter Harmony is a delight—despite mounting evidence to the contrary. And Viv, the quiet one, carries a secret so dark it could destroy everything she loves.

As friendships strain and facades crack, the Greengully school year exposes the lies we tell ourselves and the masks we wear for others. Sharp-eyed and utterly relatable, it asks: What would happen if we all stopped pretending everything was fine?

"A wonderful debut, a tonic for the times." SOFIE LAGUNA, author of The Choke and The Underworld

"Lisa is a deft and effortless storyteller who casts an unflinching and wonderfully sharp gaze over her characters and their world. A writer to watch." LUCY TRELOAR, author of Wolfe Island and Days of Innocence and Wonder

"If you don't see yourself in this book, you'll see someone you know and you'll laugh, wince, and nod all the way through. Profoundly relatable, packed with razor-sharp wit, and full of heart, this is a must-read for every parent." KYLIE ORR, author of Someone Else's Child

"Clever and poignant, The Mother of All Calamities chisels away the pearly veneers of Australian suburbia. Both a contemporary satire and a study of our nature, Moule exposes the hypocrisies of parenting, motherhood, trauma and memory. And yet it veers away from cynicism, for it is a novel that offers hope and promise in the finding of empathy and respect. Do not miss out on the conversation, for The Mother of All Calamities will be the book discussed at school drop-offs and pick-ups." MADELEINE CLEARY, author of The Butterfly Women

"Moule conjures the atmosphere of the contemporary Australian school environment as a pitch-perfect social microcosm." CATE KENNEDY, author of Like a House on Fire

"Moule deftly weaves the intertwined stories of four women to reveal just how perniciously secrets can erode trust. She also shows how, conversely, empathy and authenticity beget true intimacy. The Mother of All Calamities is equal parts thrilling, poignant, and wryly funny. In the vein of Liane Moriarty and Sally Hepworth, Moule's narrative is as ambitious as the story is relatable." KATHARINE POLLOCK, author of Starry Eyed and Her Fidelity.

©2026 Lisa Moule (P)2026 W. F. Howes ltd.