Spotlight of MotherLove by Jean Trounstine

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TYPORAMA
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MOTHERLOVE

JEAN TROUNSTINE

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ALL INFORMATION IN THIS POST IS COURTESY OF FRANCESCA FUENTES AND EMILY AFIFI OF WUNDERKIND PR 

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From acclaimed author and social justice activist Jean Trounstine comes a powerful short story collection about an often forgotten group: the mothers of children who kill.

Trounstine explores the stories of ten mothers, each struggling with the aftermath of murder, with deft writing and deep empathy.

MOTHERLOVE is the first fiction work from Trounstine, author of six other books—from poetry to nonfiction—including Boy with a Knife: A Story of Murder, Remorse, and a Prisoner’s Fight for Justice.

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March 21, 2024

Concord Free Press

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The Concord Free Press is an all-volunteer press that gives its books to readers in exchange for their generosity. To date, the press has inspired more than $6 million in diverse donations to causes and people in need.

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PRAISE FOR MOTHERLOVE:

“In these gritty, moving, revealing stories, all of which are like jolts of electricity, Trounstine shows the human cost by revealing mothers who are brave, fierce, stubborn, full of hope and sometimes delusional. So incredibly moving, you’ll rethink everything you ever thought about our justice system.”– Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of  Pictures of You and Days of Wonder

 

“RAW! The stories beyond the headlines. An unabated glimpse at the pain borne of a mother’s love for her child.”   – Shawn Fisher, prisoner, activist, and author

 

“Jean Trounstine’s unflinching collection of short stories, Motherlove, invites us into the travails of ten women, inescapably, bound to their children, often willfully self-destructive, absent husbands and communities hounded by dire circumstances, some of their own making and others that conspire against their better impulses. Each woman carries her own demons, but in Jean Trounstine’s deft portrayals… they remain indefatigable in their determination to persist.”    – Wesley Brown, author of Dance of the Infidels and Blue in Green

 

“In her extraordinary collection of short stories, Jean Trounstine gives voice to the women who dwell in the background of the criminal justice system—the mothers of criminal defendants who have taken another’s life. With each story, she uncovers the hope, strength and resilience of these women whose lives and dreams have been shattered by her child’s actions. Each character’s tenacity to simply go on in spite of challenging obstacles is inspiring. A touching and compelling read.”– Richard A. Simons, First Justice, Berkshire MA Probate and Family Court

“How brilliantly, and how heartbreakingly, Trounstine makes real the articles we read too often in our local newspapers. Her stories capture, in ways I’ve never seen before, the passionate and profound truth; every murder involves the loss of two lives. As soon as you open Motherlove, you’ll know that nothing is more important than to keep reading.”–Margo Livesey, author of The Road from Belhaven

“How brilliantly, and how heartbreakingly, Trounstine makes real the articles we read too often in our local newspapers. Her stories capture, in ways I’ve never seen before, the passionate and profound truth; every murder involves the loss of two lives. As soon as you open Motherlove, you’ll know that nothing is more important than to keep reading.” –Margo Livesey, author of The Road from Belhaven 

“Jean Trounstine is the rare artist who is equal parts activist, and her new book Motherlove is as heartbreaking as it is empowering! This is essential reading for anyone who has ever imagined what it might be like to have a child charged with homicide, not to mention a book for anyone who has been frustrated by the criminal justice system. Trounstine offers ten meticulously-drawn portraits that are testaments to true empathy, an empathy only richer for its complications. It's astounding that this is her first fiction, but we're so lucky that she has applied decades of indispensable advocacy to this too-often-ignored subject. Unforgettable in every way." –Porochista Khakpour, author of Brown Album: Essay on Exile & Identity 

“The hardest job in the world is being a mother, and Trounstine’s collection of mothers have the added burden of losing their sons to the criminal legal system’s stranglehold. These mothers themselves are trapped behind glass partitions, court officers, and parole boards. Their strength and courage are driven by their stubborn loyalty to the sons that handed them hardship in a world already full of it, but Trounstine imbues each story with love and forgiveness. Motherlove is a necessary addition to prison literature at a time when reform can only start with empathy and understanding.” –David Moloney, author of Barker House 

"Jean Trounstine has coined the word "Motherlove." Is it a noun, verb, adjective? All of the above. This work makes a great contribution to prison literature: the untold stories of those mothers who find themselves in horror and desperation in an instant. And still they must operate as if life goes on. Though diverse, all Trounstine’s mothers, with (mostly) sons in prison for murder, are heartbroken. They inescapably wait for the other shoe to drop. I call it a haunting, a perpetual haunting." –Donna M. Bright, PhD, a mother whose son was paroled on a life sentence 

"Jean Trounstine has written a powerful and evocative testament to the unseen and un-talked about side of criminal justice—mothers who’ve lost their sons not as the victims of violence, but the perpetrators of it. These stories are poignant, visceral glimpses into the trauma and tragedy these mothers are forced to face with little sympathy and less understanding." –Karter Reed, husband, father, son and subject of Boy With A Knife 

“In writing that is deft, assured, and heartfelt, Jean Trounstine tells it slant in these moving stories that show the intertwining of grief, pain, and love in life’s ordinary but important moments. Her gift is to let us know these resilient, lively women as much more than mothers of sons who have murdered and to see their sons as boys— lost, angry, in the wrong place at the wrong time—as deserving of love. Brava!” –Karen Propp, author of In Sickness & In Health: A Love Story and The Pregnancy Project: Encounters With Reproductive Therapy 

“In Motherlove, Jean Trounstine has crafted narratives which poignantly and evocatively illuminate the realities faced by women drawn into the criminal legal system when their children are accused of murder. Trounstine’s characters face seemingly insurmountable stress and trauma but must carry on for their families and loved ones. In one of the most moving sections of the book, mothers who have known each other since childhood face each other during a parole hearing–one is the parent of the person seeking release, the other is the parent of the victim. Trounstine insightfully explores issues that are important to us all—the need for connection, compassion and the actual nature of our so-called ‘justice’ system. –Jay Blitzman, First Justice, Middlesex County Division of the MA Juvenile Court (Retired)

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ABOUT MOTHERLOVE:

In MOTHERLOVE, acclaimed writer and social justice advocate Jean Trounstine turns her sharp eye on an often forgotten group–mothers of children who kill. 

With deft writing and deep empathy, Trounstine explores the stories of ten mothers, each struggling with the aftermath of murder.

While fictional, her characters are drawn from Trounstine’s decades of experience with prisoners and their families, making these stories all the more real, resonant, and unforgettable.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jean Trounstine is an author, activist, and educator who has written extensively about the criminal legal system in America.

She worked at Framingham Women’s Prison for a decade, where she directed eight plays for prisoners—resulting in her highly praised book, Shakespeare Behind Bars: The Power of Drama in a Women’s Prison. Her groundbreaking work is considered the first Shakespeare program launched in the U.S.

Trounstine has spoken throughout the world about women in prison, and co-founded the women’s branch of Changing Lives Through Literature (CLTL), an innovative alternative sentencing program. In 2018, she was invited to Italy and awarded the Gramsci International Award for Theatre in Prison for her 30 years of work in literature and theater. 

MOTHERLOVE is the first fiction work from Trounstine, author of six other books—from poetry to nonfiction—including Boy with a Knife: A Story of Murder, Remorse, and a Prisoner’s Fight for Justice.

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