An Accidental Mother

Publisher's Summary. After her divorce, Kate Kindred decided that she would live her life without children. But then she fell in love with Jim, a handsome, caring man who had custody of his two-year-old son, Michael. And she fell in love with the boy, too. During the six years they all lived together, Kate learned the deep joys of motherhood—that was the gift that Michael gave her. But when her relationship with Jim ended, he denied her any contact with Michael.

And her heart was broken.

An Accidental Mother beautifully describes the joys of mothering a young boy through complicated times. With sweet simple anecdotes and complex emotions, Kate Kindred marks every page with tears, including those that the most loving laughter can bring to any parent.

Review. Today side-by-side traditional nuclear families are a myriad of other “families.” In the memoir An Accidental Mother by Katherine Anne Kindred, the author shares her experiences as part of one such “nontraditional” family.

After forty-something Kindred’s second marriage dissolved, so did her dream of having a child. Life, however, had other plans for Kindred. When Kindred entered into a relationship with Jim she became a surrogate parent to his motherless, young son Michael. And for the next six years while Kindred cohabitated with Jim and Michael the trio morphed into a cohesive family unit. As Kindred confesses:

He [Michael] did not come from my belly, and we have no genetic link, but he has become my sun, my moon, my stars. And I have become his mother.

Sadly, this loving relationship was terminated by Jim when he and Kindred split.

An Accidental Mother is Kindred’s love letter to Michael. Interspersed between Kindred’s humorous (and not so humorous) recollections and Michael’s artwork, her love and devotion to Michael is apparent. From her daily “Good Morning Sunshine” greeting to rouse the slumbering little boy to the nightly dream stories she created while tucking him into bed, Michael is clearly Kindred’s sun, moon and stars!

Hopefully, someday Michael will have the chance to read this profoundly touching tribute from his "Mom."



Review copy provided courtesy of the publisher.