by Hannah Clickenger (Author)
The Unsainted Mother is an intimate work of literary nonfiction about growing up in the orbit of a mother whose faith, mental illness, and addiction became impossible to separate.
Told in first person, this memoir traces a childhood shaped by religious extremism, untreated psychiatric illness, and an ever-present sense that something dark followed from place to place. From scripture covering closet walls to diary entries revealing thoughts no child should ever read, the narrator pieces together memory, loss, and survival in the aftermath of a complicated love.
As the story unfolds, the boundary between psychological trauma and the paranormal begins to blur, raising quiet questions about belief, fear, and the stories we tell ourselves to endure. This is not a book that offers answers or absolution, but one that sits with the weight of what remains after faith fractures and a mother is gone.
Written with restraint and emotional clarity, The Unsainted Mother will resonate with readers drawn to memoirs about complex families, religious trauma, mental illness, and grief that refuses to be simple.