A Commemorative Edition of this highly acclaimed ground-breaking novel which continues to reach new generations.

It would be hard to imagine parents more perfect than Claire and Theo. In the mid-1960s, in a rambling apartment overlooking Central Park West, they raise their son Willy with enthusiasm, encouragement, and with what might today be called unconditional love. It might also be called unconventional love, for both Claire and Theo are women. They are Willy’s mothers and until a mistrustful outside world intrudes to try to tear them apart, they are the best family a boy could want. In an enchanting, moving novel, Jax Peters Lowell explores the powerful bonds of love and family and gives us a cautionary tale for our own times.

“I remember Claire making me promise I would always go out of my way for someone I truly loved – ‘to Brooklyn, if necessary’ – even though we both knew I was too young to know what price it could exact.  I can only tell my daughters what happened and hope they will begin to understand and trust their lives to fill in the rest.  If I do this right, someday they may go as far as Brooklyn for me.” —Willy Bouvier Hirsh, Mothers

Praise for Mothers

“An extraordinary accomplishment…”   —Elizabeth Gilbert

"Mothers puts a human face on a loving, nurturing, and unconventional family.” —Booklist

“Enchanting, shocking, unbearably tragic… Mothers will capture your heart and may well break it.” —Wilde

“With a delicate and assured touch, this poignant novel explores the meaning of love, family, and identity. This is a book to go to Brooklyn for.” —Publishers Weekly

“I just reread Mothers and I am stunned by its beauty, grace, and vision.” —Sonia Sanchez, Poet, American Book Award Winner, Fellow National Academy of Arts and Letters

“Compelling, fascinating, good social medicine…” —San Francisco Chronicle

“A tender, moving story of love, family and identity, Mothers is a novel you won’t want to miss.” —Bookstar

“Excellent writing. The fantasy and mythic weight of a fairly tale.” —Kirkus Reviews

“You could say that Justice Kennedy wrote the Romer opinion in part because he read modern gay fiction like Jax Peters Lowell’s Mothers. Or at least his law clerk had. —Carolyn Grose, Mitchell Law Review

“A beautiful love story, Mothers remains one of the quintessential descriptions of a loving, nurturing family. If only we were all so lucky.” —Five-Star Review, Amazon.com