The Mother Road

By: Jennifer AlLee

Narrated by: Caroline Shaffer

Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Within the course of a week, Natalie is dumped by her husband, receives an urgent call home from her father, and discovers her estranged sister is pregnant. A road trip on Route 66 may not help, but it sure couldn't hurt. Or so Natalie thinks until Lindsay's boyfriend starts stalking them. Will their trip down the Mother Road bring the two sisters closer together or turn out to be the biggest wrong turn yet?

©2012 Jennifer AlLee (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Relationships are the backbone of The Mother Road, and AlLee gives us real ones, conflicted and complicated. I alternated between cheering Natalie and wanting to smack her upside the head. Not that her younger sister is perfect. Not by a long shot. But I fell in love with these characters and wished the road trip hadn't ended so soon. Novel Rocket and I give it a very high recommendation. It's a must read." (Ane Mulligan, sr. editor, Novel Rocket)

"With a compelling, fresh voice, Jennifer AlLee blends Americana with the trials of a modern-day family. The Mother Road's a simply smashing story. Not to be missed!" (Patti Lacy, author, Reclaiming Lily)

"I felt like I was right there in the car with estranged sisters, Natalie and Lindsay, as they motored down The Mother Road toward a future free from heartache, loneliness, and fear. You don't want to miss this fun story that will tweak your every emotion (and a few you might have forgotten about)! I'm making space on my 'keepers shelf' for this one!" (Loree Lough, best-selling author of more than 80 award-winning books, including reader favorite From Ashes to Honor)

Interesting story premise

The author was brave to address hard topics of a failed marriage, infertility, strained/absent sibling relationship, sister’s unplanned pregnancy, and the mom’s Alzheimer’s.
I found myself really frustrated with the main character, Natalie—for about the first 3/4’s of the novel. Although she had good reason to be depressed, self-absorbed due to her husband’s adulterous behavior—her supposed career as a marriage and family author and speaker just did not at all ring true to her character or problem solving abilities. She appeared obtuse to relationships—including her sister, parents, and certainly what failed in her marriage (initially)—not at all consistent with a supposed “expert”. Her character just felt superficial, and lacking in any depth of faith until the end. However I appreciated the author’s attempt to develop all the characters towards the end, without just giving a fairy tale kind of resolution to a very hard season for all the characters.

Family

I was really enjoying this book until the end. I loved the story line about the Mother and sister bond. I could relate having three sisters and having been personally impacted by Alzheimers disease in my family. It just seemed like the Author ended the story without finishing it. If there was a sequel I could almost get it but since that isn't the case it feels like she just got tired of writing so just said "the end". I was left very unsatisfied.

Enjoyed the book

Loved the book. Nice listen easy going and yet dramatic. Recommend listen very much. Thanks.

A good 5 star read

This book was both entertaining and motivating. It expressed stressful situations without the use of profanity, and held my interest to the very last page. Perhaps it may be enjoyed by mature teens as well as adults.

Very pleasant listen

This book was a very calming listen. This narrator has a nice homey sound which I enjoyed very much. The story was good, the sister's coming to terms with the past.

Book about a Christian Author facing divorce.

A great listen about a Christian Novelist facing a divorce, & how she able to turn her life around & find light & life again.

Forgiveness

This story will hit home with many women who’ve been cheated on but as a Christian there were many times I wanted to stop reading. Until the ending… A good book with a good meaning.

Enjoy the journey

Wasn’t sure what to expect but I’m glad I listened.
Very enjoyable. Good story...humor, love, tension.
Great narration, too. Hated for it to end. I’ll check out more of author’s and narrator’s books.

Love it

Love the reader. Her voice is soothing and she gets into the characters. Easy listening. Happy feel good books.

Really good!

I really enjoyed this book. No filth and a good, honest story about real struggles.