Wild Game

“This electrifying, gorgeously written memoir will hold you captive until the last word.” —People

A daughter’s tale of living in the thrall of her magnetic, complicated mother, and the chilling consequences of her complicity.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER * NAMED A BEST FALL BOOK BY People * Refinery29 * Entertainment Weekly * BuzzFeed * NPR’s On Point * Town & Country * Real Simple * New York Post * Palm Beach Post * Toronto Star * Orange Country Register * Bustle * Bookish * BookPage * Kirkus* BBC Culture* Debutiful

On a hot July night on Cape Cod when Adrienne was fourteen, her mother, Malabar, woke her at midnight with five simple words that would set the course of both of their lives for years to come: Ben Souther just kissed me.

Adrienne instantly became her mother’s confidante and helpmate, blossoming in the sudden light of her attention, and from then on, Malabar came to rely on her daughter to help orchestrate what would become an epic affair with her husband’s closest friend. The affair would have calamitous consequences for everyone involved, impacting Adrienne’s life in profound ways, driving her into a precarious marriage of her own, and then into a deep depression. Only years later will she find the strength to embrace her life—and her mother—on her own terms.

Wild Game is a brilliant, timeless memoir about how the people close to us can break our hearts simply because they have access to them, and the lies we tell in order to justify the choices we make. It’s a remarkable story of resilience, a reminder that we need not be the parents our parents were to us.

“Exquisite and harrowing.” —New York Times Book Review

What happens when a daughter's loyalty to her mother costs her everything?
A Dangerous Coming of Age: Woken at fourteen to become her mother's accomplice, Adrienne is drawn into an adult world of secrets and betrayal that will shape the rest of her life.A Web of Infidelity: At the heart of the story is an epic, years-long affair between the author's mother, Malabar, and her husband's closest friend.Evocative Cape Cod Setting: From late-night confessions in a moonlit beach house to clandestine meetings, the iconic New England landscape is a character in itself.Literary Memoir: Praised for its electrifying and gorgeously written prose, this is an unforgettable story of dysfunctional families and the courage it takes to break the cycle.