BOOK LAUNCH:
Left Bank Books
Belfast, Maine
September 8, 2026
7 pm
Pre-order here:
"What Kind of Mother is a poignant, brilliantly written evocation of what it means to come to terms with a child's addiction and mental illness, and in the process one's own struggles and history overcoming secrecy and shame, and how they conspire to destroy families from within. Absolutely unforgettable -- this is a story that will stay with me forever."
— Elissa Altman, author of Poor Man’s Feast: A Love Story of Comfort, Desire, and Tref: My Life as an Unorthodox Outlaw, The Art of Simple Cooking, Motherland, A Memoir of Love, Loathing, and Longing, and Permission: The Memoirist and the Courage to Create
Praise for “What Kind of Mother”
“But this is art--this is Literature with a capital L, Literature built on the foundation of emotion, the very thing that allows any reader to connect to. Judith's memoir delves into the poignant realization of a mother’s limitations in shielding her family from life's hardships, offering a raw and honest exploration of love, mental illness, and the struggle for redemption. What she believed she could not control she can and has controlled this narrative in a direction of pure heart. Judith’s book is a gem.”
— Morgan Talty, New York Times best selling author of Night of the Living Rez, and Fire Exit
“The narrative becomes a source of solace, forging connections among those who share in the silent struggles of nurturing and supporting adult children with mental health challenges.”
— David Goodman, M.D, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Director of the Adult Attention Deficit Disorder Center of Maryland
“Incredibly warm and funny and tender, this is a riveting story about what happens when we have to face our worst fears—about ourselves and the children we love. With wry humor and a wildly compelling voice, What Kind of Mother dares to do the taboo: to talk about what happens when things don't go at all according to the plan. It’s a book about taking the blinders off and a very moving love story. I could not put it down.”
— Susan Conley, best-selling author of Paris Was The Place, Elsey Come Home, The Foremost Good Fortune, Stop Here This Is The Place, and Landslide.
“Parents of children with mental illness struggle with guilt, shame, and the endless questions of what went wrong, when. And many also suffer in silence, worrying about telling “someone else’s story. But as Judy Sandler shows in sharp fragments of moments beautiful and grim, desperate and hopeful, sometimes telling our own story—recognizing and insisting on one’s own truth—is the path to healing. Even as a non-parent, I found myself in these frank, well-chosen words, looking into my own past and re-considering my roles in relationships with broken people. Sandler blames no-one, including herself, though in the (anonymized) treatment facilities and charlatans advocating against psychiatric treatment, there is plenty to horrify readers as a mother tries her best to help her adult son in accordance with his wishes. An unforgettable, powerful memoir of a mother in crisis, in the honest voice of your best friend, who has at last shared the truth you needed to hear.”
— Allison K. Williams, author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book
“A heartbreakingly vulnerable and sobering portrayal of what it is like to watch your child spiral into addiction and reckon with the life-altering effects of mental illness.”
— Melanie Brooks, author of A Hard Silence: One Daughter Remaps Family, Grief, and Faith when HIV/AIDS Changes It All and Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art From Trauma
“Where can one find meaning in addiction? The real story? The truth? In What Kind of Mother, Judy Sandler illuminates this terrible, beautiful path through a mother’s lens. She is there for each moment as her son flickers between chemical dependency, mental illness, and recovery. We hear both mother and son, not just in Judy’s words, but through documentary evidence: emails, journal entries, and telephone transcripts. Those little scraps of paper that build worlds. She doesn’t have to tell us where to look, how to feel, or what to find―before we realize it we already know.”
— Stacy R. Nigliazzo, author of My Borrowed Face and Scissored Moon
I very much enjoy visiting book clubs and book events, virtually or in person. If you would like me to attend your event, please feel free to email me at judysandler@mac.com or reach out to my publicist at abby@littlebirdsliterary.com.