“In these gritty, moving, revealing stories, all of which are like jolts of electricity, Trounstine shows the human cost by revealing mothers who are brave, fierce, stubborn, full of hope and sometimes delusional. So incredibly moving, you’ll rethink everything you ever thought about our justice system.”

— Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You and Days of Wonder

“RAW! The stories beyond the headlines. An unabated glimpse at the pain borne of a mother’s love for her child.”

— Shawn Fisher, formerly incarcerated, activist, and author

“Jean Trounstine’s unflinching collection of short stories, Motherlove, invites us into the travails of ten women, inescapably bound to their children… Each woman carries her own demons, but in Jean Trounstine’s deft portrayals they remain indefatigable in their determination to persist.”

— Wesley Brown, author of Dance of the Infidels and Blue in Green

“With each story, she uncovers the hope, strength and resilience of these women whose lives and dreams have been shattered by her child’s actions. Each character’s tenacity to simply go on in spite of challenging obstacles is inspiring. A touching and compelling read.”

— Richard A. Simons, First Justice, Berkshire MA Probate and Family Court

“How brilliantly, and how heartbreakingly, Trounstine makes real the articles we read too often in our local newspapers. Her stories capture, in ways I’ve never seen before, the passionate and profound truth; every murder involves the loss of two lives. As soon as you open Motherlove, you’ll know that nothing is more important than to keep reading.”

— Margo Livesey, author of The Road from Belhaven

“Jean Trounstine is the rare artist who is equal parts activist, and her new book Motherlove is as heartbreaking as it is empowering! Trounstine offers ten meticulously-drawn portraits that are testaments to true empathy, an empathy only richer for its complications. It’s astounding that this is her first fiction, but we’re so lucky that she has applied decades of indispensable advocacy to this too-often-ignored subject. Unforgettable in every way.”

— Porochista Khakpour, author of the bestselling Tehrangeles

“These mothers themselves are trapped behind glass partitions, court officers, and parole boards. Their strength and courage are driven by their stubborn loyalty to the sons that handed them hardship in a world already full of it, but Trounstine imbues each story with love and forgiveness.”

— David Moloney, author of Barker House

“Jean Trounstine has coined the word ‘Motherlove.’ Is it a noun, verb, adjective? All of the above. This work makes a great contribution to prison literature: the untold stories of those mothers who find themselves in horror and desperation in an instant.”

— Donna M. Bright, PhD, a mother whose son was paroled on a life sentence

“These stories are poignant, visceral glimpses into the trauma and tragedy these mothers are forced to face with little sympathy and less understanding.”

— Karter Reed, husband, father, son and subject of Boy With A Knife

“In writing that is deft, assured, and heartfelt, Jean Trounstine tells it slant in these moving stories that show the intertwining of grief, pain, and love in life’s ordinary but important moments.”

— Karen Propp, author of In Sickness & In Health: A Love Story

“Trounstine insightfully explores issues that are important to us all — the need for connection, compassion and the actual nature of our so-called ‘justice’ system.”

— Jay Blitzman, First Justice, Middlesex County Division of the MA Juvenile Court (Retired)

“Trounstine’s experience enables her to present convincingly the desperate circumstances of people whose family members have been arrested and incarcerated, sometimes legitimately, often not… Publicizing these circumstances and various other wretched conditions and consequences common to folks with incarcerated family members is a worthy effort, and Trounstine is to be applauded for her work.”

— Bill Littlefield, Emerson Prison Initiative college counselor, The Arts Fuse Magazine