The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

The novel’s protagonist is Frida Liu, a 39 year old mother raising her 18 month old daughter Harriet on her own, after her husband leaves her for a much younger pilates instructor. New York: Simon & Schuster.While there is certainly no dearth of literature surrounding the experience of motherhood and exploring the relationship between mothers and their children, Jessamine Chan has chosen to go in a unique direction with her debut novel, The School for Good Mothers, which tackles motherhood through a dystopian lens. Ĭhan spent three years living in South Philadelphia with her husband and daughter, providing material for her debut novel. Chan will serve as an executive producer for the show. In 2022, Jessica Chastain's production company Freckle Films bought the TV rights to the book, with plans for Jude Weng to direct the TV adaptation. The book was a finalist for the 2023 John Leonard Prize, awarded by the National Book Critics Circle for a first book in any genre. It was the Today Show 's 'Read with Jenna' book club pick when the book came out. The dystopian novel was inspired by a nonfiction New Yorker article in which a mother lost parental rights. The School for Good Mothers Ĭhan's debut novel, The School for Good Mothers, was published in 2022 by Simon & Schuster. Later, she moved to Chicago and worked as editor of a research digest for University of Chicago’s graduate business school before beginning her MFA at Columbia. Career Īfter graduating from Brown, Chan moved to New York City to work as an editor of nonfiction reviews for Publishers Weekly.

She currently lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter. She received her Bachelors' degree from Brown University, followed by a master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia University. Her mother is from Taiwan, and her father is from mainland China. She grew up in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago, as the daughter of Chinese professors who met in the US. Jessamine Chan is an American novelist and the author of The School for Good Mothers.Ĭhan is a first-generation Chinese-American.

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan