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The Reunion

(Secret Mother's Business #2)

Joanne Fedler

3.41 · Rating details · 98 ratings · 18 reviews

It's been ages since Jo, Helen, Ereka and CJ first became friends through their mothers' group-back then, life revolved around their small children. Now their kids are pre-teens and teenagers with attitudes, iPods and raging hormones, and life is feeling emptier for some mothers, more liberating for others.
While away together in an old country house with a couple of new fr ...more

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Paperback, 322 pages

Published April 26th 2012 by Allen & Unwin Australia

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3.41 ·

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· 98 ratings · 18 reviews

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Apr 10, 2012 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc-are, aussie-author, provided-by-publisher

It's been six years since the women introduced in Secret Mothers' Business: One Night, Eight Women, No Kids, No Holding Back have managed to get away for a weekend. Not everyone from the original group has been able to make it but Jo, Helen, Ereka and CJ are joined by friends, Maeve, Summer and Virginia in the large rented country house. Over the course of the weekend, the seven women share wine, food, laughter, tears, secrets and truths, as they candidly discuss men, marriage, children, sex, mo It's been six years since the women introduced in Secret Mothers' Business: One Night, Eight Women, No Kids, No Holding Back have managed to get away for a weekend. Not everyone from the original group has been able to make it but Jo, Helen, Ereka and CJ are joined by friends, Maeve, Summer and Virginia in the large rented country house. Over the course of the weekend, the seven women share wine, food, laughter, tears, secrets and truths, as they candidly discuss men, marriage, children, sex, motherhood and growing older and rediscover the value of friendship.

It's Jo who is our hostess on this weekend away though it was her best friend, Helen, who took care of the details. Jo is in her forties, a wife and mother to a 13 year old daughter and 11 year old and has been struggling with her changing role as a parent as her children begin to make a bid for their own independence. A bit of a control freak, evidenced by her strict eating regime, and suffering insomnia from the self induced stress, she is looking forward to a relaxing weekend but her anxieties are never far from her mind.
Jo introduces us to the other woman joining her on the retreat, six of them are escaping children and/or partners for the weekend. Easygoing Helen is the mother of four who while mainly content with her life is also a little wistful for the wild freedom of her youth. The first thing Jo notices about Ereka is her weight, but as a mother to a brain injured teenager, the women tend to cut Ereka some slack. CJ is a lawyer, divorced from the father of her three children, but enjoying a new live in relationship. Jo doesn't know much about Summer, who CJ has invited, but she is pretty quick to judge the pretty blonde Zumba instructor who is on her third marriage, only to find that there is much more to the woman than meets the eye. Jo invited Maeve, a Susan Boyle look a like, thinking she would add something interesting to the group. Though the mother of an adult son, Maeve, a professor in social anthropology, is interested in much more than men and children. Only Virgina has been unmarried and childless, enjoying a glamorous career as a location scout for film and television, she has been friends with Helen since kindergarten though and Jo can't help be a little jealous.
As the champagne flows, the diverse group chat freely and despite the best of intentions, the topic of conversation soon veers towards family, and children in particular. Each of the women have had very different experiences of motherhood, and I love the honesty with which Fedler allows her character to talk about their experiences. Motherhood, for all the joy it offers, is a tough job and requires sacrifices, both small and large. Each woman is doing the best they can but they all secretly wonder is they are doing it 'right'. Virgina may be the only childless one in the group but her own mother, with whom she had a complicated relationship, is dying which offers a different perspective to the discussion.
The Reunion is about more than just a exploration of mothering though, is about women reclaiming their identity as individuals, coming to terms with the choices they have made and looking towards a future when motherhood will not define them. For Jo this is the biggest challenge, figuring out how to be a good mother, a good wife, a good friend, and a good person.

The Reunion is a great, entertaining read. If you are a mother, then you will recognise yourself in these characters, in their hopes and fears and regrets. As a mother of four (aged 6 to 15) I wish I could have joined these women, to become part of their candid conversation and share my own stories. Obviously, a girls weekend away is long overdue with my own group of friends. ...more

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Dec 09, 2017 Sami rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This one took me on an interesting ride. At times I got so irritated with the 1st person narrator of this (Jo) because she was so incredibly judgmental. In her mind she was critiquing her friends'; wardrobes, eating habits, intelligence, life choices & parenting methods, while herself being a complete control freak about her own diet and her kids, who she seemed to be helicoptering. I felt like she was a complete hypocrite, on the one hand railing at her friend for having botox and on the ot This one took me on an interesting ride. At times I got so irritated with the 1st person narrator of this (Jo) because she was so incredibly judgmental. In her mind she was critiquing her friends'; wardrobes, eating habits, intelligence, life choices & parenting methods, while herself being a complete control freak about her own diet and her kids, who she seemed to be helicoptering. I felt like she was a complete hypocrite, on the one hand railing at her friend for having botox and on the other lamenting every single wrinkle and line she saw in the mirror and wishing men other than her husband were attracted to her. I just couldn't relate to her thought patterns. With friends like Jo, who needs enemies?

But then there were the moments of beautiful insight that brought me up short and made me reread sentences, things that had me nodding along. The author's depth of understanding about what it means to be a mother showed through in those moments and made me keep reading. Yes, I was annoyed at times but never bored, which, considering the book is pretty much made up of only observations and conversations, was no mean feat. I enjoyed the author's writing style, and some of the characters really shone for me for eg Maeve and Virginia. I really liked them but Jo's judgy thoughts about Virginia and how sad she was 'supposed' to be about her mother, her petty jealously about her relationship with Helen.. ugh. And don't get me started on how she picked on poor Summer, jeez. I felt so sorry for her. Just because someone is young, blonde and bubbly with fake boobs, doesn't mean she doesn't have a meaningful story or that those things alone make her worthy of scorn. Jo just hated her and it left a bad taste in my mouth, at least until the end where she seemed to finally have some sympathy, and only after she'd discovered 'evidence' that Summer wasn't as shallow as she seemed, as though that was required in order for Jo to treat her like a human being (BTW the shoe thing was really NOT A BIG DEAL and Jo's obsession with Summer borrowing her shoes was a little weird). I also thought she was kinda mean to the dog. And you're on a weekend away FORGET THE OBSESSIVE DIETING OK? It's obnoxious to expect others to fall into your line while they are having a break from their own lives. Eat the damn pizza, Jo.

Gah. Overall a good, insightful, well written book that was marred by a truly unlikeable main character that I just couldn't get behind. ...more

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Apr 29, 2018 Msdot rated it it was amazing

There were so many interesting and beautiful quotes about motherhood in the book. The author put words into feelings and experience of motherhood like no other author had done. I really enjoyed reading the book, and often find myself scrambled for pen and paper to jott down what i read, so i can reflect on it and share it later.

It was funny and beautifully written, and i bet any mothers who read this book can identify with some or most of the things written in this book about what motherhood wa ...more

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May 07, 2018 May rated it really liked it

Didn't have much expectation when I started but changed my mind pretty quickly. The story was easy to read yet with many interesting and thought-provoking ideas to consider. As mothers, we all look forward to the days when our lives become our own again, yet for some of us, that day may never come. What then? Author had a way with words which means many quotable moments in the book. Will definitely be on a look out for more of her books.

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Aug 15, 2013 Domika rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2013, 5, humor

Hlavními hrdinkami této povedené knihy je sedm žen, které už mají nejlepší léta za sebou. První příznaky stárnutí se objevují a naše hrdinky se bojí, že už nikdy nebudou vypadat jako za svých mladých let. Jejich děti jim přece neustále připomínají, že jsou už důchodci, naprostí staříci, kteří nemají páru o moderním světě.
A tak se Jo, Helena, Erika, CJ se rozhodly, že pozvou své další kamarádky - Maeve, Summer a Virginii, a udělají si pořádnou dámskou jízdu bez otravných dětí a manželů.

"Koukni na ...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Butterblume rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, romane-komödien-dramen

Meinung
Ein gutes Buch für die Generation ab 30.

Charaktere
In endlich "Endlich wieder Weiberabend" treffen verschiedene Frauen in einer Villa aufeinander um sich mal ein paar Tage Auszeit vom Ehe -und Mutteralltag zu gönnen.
Alle Frau haben sich im wesentlichen voneinander unterschieden, die eine hat ein paar mehr Kinder, die andere nur eins, die eine hat Figurprobleme die andere nicht usw.
Weiter werde ich die Charaktere nicht erläutern denn bevor die Handlung beginnt findet ihr von jeder Person ei ...more

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Dec 26, 2016 The Bookish Gardener rated it did not like it

I've been wanting to read this book for ages, having seen it on the library shelves.
Finally, I got my chance. I thought, 'Great.' I liked the premise, the cover, the concept of a group of predominantly old friends (and some new) getting together for a weekend away without partners or kids.
And some of the writing in the early stages was so clever, touching. It was so full of promise.
And here's the but .. but the characters and their conversations and their nastiness and snide comments and lack of ...more

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Jun 13, 2013 Linda Jaejoong rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-until-2019

Nicht nur was für Frauen ab 40!!! Ich gebe zu ich konnte zwar keine der 7 Frauen leiden, Gott sie sind so schrecklich, aber die Handlung ist richtig gut!! Jede Frau hat ihre Probleme und natürlich versuchen die Anderen mit ihren Ratschlägen der jeweiligen Frau zu helfen!!

Jeder weiß es natürlich besser, vor allem Jo, ich konnte sie gar nicht leiden!! Sie ist so schlimm, sie kommt mit ihren Kinder gar nicht zu recht, aber muss allen anderen sagen was sie in ihrem Leben falsch machen!!

Die Frauen z ...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Trina rated it liked it

This was a VERY light read. More like reading a magazine. There is a book which precedes it by the same author called Secret Mother's Business which I haven't read but probably will as I also got it out of the library (but it arrived later hence reading out of order).

Not particularly well written but OK if you need a break from heavier books, which I did. Think it is best if you have kids of school age as you can relate to the subject matter.

I wouldn't pay for this book but would get it out of ...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Jaki rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle

I didn't love this as much as "secret mother's business", but I still loved it a lot. Joanne Fedler writes of the characteristics that we all see in our friends, or people we meet. The stories feel true, and possible.
My main sorrow about the book was not getting to find out what happened to all the people from the first book, and the change in relationships - not a weakness of the writing or story, but of my expectations that things should stay the same. Much more realistic than I could write, ...more

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May 18, 2012 Peta Chait rated it it was amazing

She writes like she is talking to you, loved this book, great for mothers with kids that are either teens or not needing you so much anymore or leaving home.
I could so relate and read late into the night.

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Jun 07, 2012 Deirdre rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018

Very much chick lit. Light & enjoyable. A few too many characters - hard to keep track of, so had to refer to the legend at the start of the book a few times. Saw much of myself in the narrator, Jo.

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Oct 28, 2013 Yali rated it liked it

I loved the way this book was written. The author is hilarious! Not exactly a book I'd recommend to single, young girls. Based a lot on marriage, kids and relationships. A slow story with no big fire works but an enjoyable read.

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Feb 01, 2013 Judith Yeabsley rated it really liked it

There were some great lines in this book. It's a bunch of 40-ish women away for a weekend and was way too close to home on a lot of fronts. Really enjoyed it although it got a little preachy towards the end.

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