Journalism | Book Chatter

Trad Wife
By Sarah Langan
Atria, September 29, 2026, 320pp.

The Short of It:

Trad Wife is everything that Yesteryear wasn’t. There, I said it.

The Rest of It:

*No Spoilers*

“Every day, millions watch Mia Wright, the “trad wife” queen, on her idyllic three-hundred-acre farm. With her handsome husband, seven well-behaved children, and a life of from-scratch meals and pastoral bliss, she’s an icon of modern femininity. But behind every perfect image is a secret. And in this case, the secret is a horror.”

Naturally, someone with this following commands the attention of every journalist out there, but Jenny Kaplan is the one who lands the assignment. Why? She has no idea. She’s been trying to get bigger stories, but the smallish press she works for errs on the conservative side after her last story stirred up trouble with a rogue online group that targeted Jenny for the opinions she expressed. Unfortunately, those opinions cost her her job, and she is immediately let go.

It turns out Mia Wright requested Jenny specifically to cover her story. Everyone is chomping at the bit to get this story, so Jenny’s boss gives her the assignment, and Jenny heads off to Black Swan Farm.

Mia’s family is charming. Her husband, Steadman, is loving and fully invested in the family farm. Mia is pregnant with her eighth baby and still cooking everything from scratch while tending to her online business selling Black Swan merch. Jenny observes everything, and Mia is very kind. She opens her home to Jenny, provides her with living quarters, and, in a week’s time, they will switch places so Jenny can see what it’s really like to run Black Swan Farm.

Enter cherry-scented everything. The entire home smells like cherries because it’s the farm’s number one selling product. It also covers up the disgusting stench that wafts over Jenny’s room every now and then. What is that? One of the children explains that something probably died in the wall.

Um, red flag.

What follows is an intimate look at the influencer lifestyle, what it takes to be successful, and what’s a little more smoke and mirrors than actual fact. In just a week’s time, though, the farm has lost its shine. It seems run-down, almost withered. Looking at it with fresh eyes, Jenny can’t believe it’s the same farm she arrived at just a few days ago.

Well, things have changed. Trad Wife is so, so good. You see, there is a backstory and plenty of history to that little town. Jenny is introduced to it in bits and pieces, mostly through observation but also through Mia’s children and some others in town. What begins as an exposé turns into a horrifying encounter.

Why this one worked so much better for me than that other book:

Plot
Likable characters
A true sense of foreboding and horror
A deeper, underlying message
A good “what is going on?” factor

Buy it. Get a copy. Comes out September 29th.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

Life Itself
By Roger Ebert
(Grand Central Publishing, Paperback, 9780446584968, September 2012, 448pp.)

The Short of It:

Written with humor and heart.

The Rest of It:

Everyone is familiar with Roger Ebert, right? His characteristic “thumbs-up” rating for movies he enjoyed, his battle with cancer that destroyed his face and took his voice forever, his antagonistic but often funny interactions with Gene Siskel? I grew up watching him. I spent hours in theaters watching the movies he recommended and he was probably one of the main reasons I entered college as a film major. But what I didn’t know and really didn’t begin to know, was the man behind the famous rating system. I didn’t really get to know him until his battle with cancer and I didn’t read this book until he passed away this past April. What a life.

Life Itself is a treat for anyone who enjoys small town life and nostalgia in general. Ebert’s small town of Urbana, Illinois provided a safe, comforting backdrop for his childhood. His trips to the local movie theater are written about with the care and gentle handling of a man in love with his childhood. He was always a wonderful writer, but the sense of place he conveys in this memoir will bring tears to your eyes for what once was. I loved these glimpses into Ebert’s life. His funny perspective, his awkwardness and his ability to break it all down into pleasant digestible bits.

There are some things I learned that I was not aware of before reading his book. I had no idea that he was a recovering alcoholic. The section on him joining Alcoholics Anonymous was told with such honestly, that I wanted to just reach through the pages and offer him a gentle, guiding hand. I also didn’t know that Gene Siskel, the critic that was forever (in my mind) arguing with Ebert over the movies they reviewed, was actually a very close friend and that their success on TV came quite accidentally. Additionally, I had no idea that Ebert was such a reader! Lots of book love in this one.

What I did expect and did not get was more insight into his battle with cancer. This part of his life is told in a very matter-of-fact way and details are kept to a minimum. He doesn’t dwell on what he lost. In fact, I’m not sure I expected him to be as optimistic as he was in the book, but in the end, I am glad that the cancer did not rule his life even though on the outside looking in, it certainly seemed that way.

I don’t read many memoirs but this book was a real treat. There’s quite a bit of humor and the stories from his youth are told with a lot of heart. I found myself yearning for simpler times and I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the man is missed. I never look at movies quite the same way. His sense of wonder, his ability to appreciate the small, creative nuances that directors injected into their films and his knack for saying exactly what he means is what made him a favorite in my eye.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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