Wife and Mother

by Ruth Doan MacDougall

Saturday night. Fall, 1958. A dormitory at Winterford College for Women. John Ash yells from the lobby, "Anybody want a date?" Carolyn Lyman accepts. Four months, two dates and one sexual encounter later, they stand beside each other as duly-wedded man and wife, parents of a soon-to-be-born child. Despite their initial differences, they work out a life together that many people would envy. Carolyn sees that John is not just the aggressive, arrogant young man to whom she indifferently surrendered her virginity but someone who, above all else, desires to be the success that his father never was. For his part, John realizes that Carolyn is a good deal more than an easy lay for whom he has shouldered responsibility, that she is, in fact, a wife to be proud of and love within his own meaning of the word. Uniting them, giving them a common bond, is their son, Alex.

285 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Filled with inane conversation and sparse plot that made it perfect skim fodder. Got 2 stars because I like the 70's references.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruth Doan MacDougall is one of my favorite authors but this was my least favorite of her books. Carolyn becomes pregnant after a one night stand and marries the father, drops out of college and becomes a housewife and mother back in the late fifties and sixties. While this book had all the wonderful details I expect from a MacDougall book, I had a hard time relating to Carolyn and found the plotline to be rambling. However, the book received glowing reviews so it may be it just suffers in relationship to her other books.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple struggles to "make it work."

[Ruth Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Depressing with our main character in a fog-like state.