After the unprecedented success of "The Death House," which became the number one book of the year for Time magazine, Alison Bechdel tells in her own unique way how she became the artist she wanted to be, and the mother she wanted to have.

Alison Bechdel's "The Death House" was a literary phenomenon. And now, another captivating story, this time about her mother: the bookworm, the music lover, the star of amateur theater. And also, the woman who suffered with a homosexual husband, who with her artistic ambitions marked Bechdel's childhood... and who stopped kissing and touching her daughter from the age of seven. With a murderous humor, Bechdel seeks answers for the unbridgeable gap between mother and daughter. And her research must cross many layers: from the iconic psychoanalyst of the twentieth century, Donald Winnicott, to the graduation of Dr. Spouse, to Bechdel's own personal life (monogamous... by default). And finally, the Mother herself - with a negotiation that will surprise and move all the children of charismatic mothers.