At first Linda clings to her Grandmother Lula, while yearning for her mother's embrace. When her mother, Josephine, visits, Linda is thrown into a circle of love and anxiety. Josephine and Lulu argue at every visit. Josephine gives attention to Linda as almost an afterthought, yet Linda can think of nothing else but living with her mother in Chicago. Linda's father visits more infrequently, but Linda always hopes to capture the love of father and daughters. The naive Linda can only mimic the family relationships of her classmates. Her world unravels when an abusive grandmother replaces her kind grandmother. Why does her grandmother change? Can Linda make her happy again?

Linda tries to escape through music, friends, and other family. She delves into the intensity of music as introduced by her teacher. Fearful of more loss, Linda does not share her home life with the outside world. Linda and Grandma Lulu take family trips across the states to Iowa and Mississippi. She discovers solace in the stability of her great-grandmother's and aunt's country life. Linda's world slowly opens to the puzzle of mother-daughter relationship and family dynamics. She feels a connection within her family and within the world. Unfortunately, Linda pieces together a family history of abandonment, abuse, and mental illness. What will the revelation mean to her own family? Will she ever find love in the arms of her mother and grandmother?

In Don't Call Me Mother, author Linda Joy Myers unravels her childhood of mother-daughter abandonment, abuse, and mental illness. Readers will feel her joy, pain, confusion, and healing. Myers, a San Francisco therapist, teaches healing through writing. Myers includes an appendix for steps in writing memoirs. Don't Call Me Mother presents a powerful story and guide to healing the pain of abandonment, especially between mothers and daughters. Highly recommended!