Sweet Baby Mine by Maria Daversa
“Why is it all the bad things we’ve done in the past never stay in the past?”
Ana will do anything to hold on to Tony. He’s the love of her life–the Heathcliff to her Catherine, the Rivera to her Kahlo, the Sid to her Nancy. Without him, she’s nothing.But Ana also has a secret–a youthful indiscretion that shouldn’t have happened. So, when her estranged daughter, Chloe, calls in the middle of the night to say she wants to come home, Ana finds herself caught in a web of deceit as mother and daughter share a secret so troubling it could destroy her marriage.
Set in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, Sweet Baby Mine is an adult coming of age tale about the collateral damage left behind when a marriage fails spectacularly. Told in real time and from the perspectives of the two main characters: Ana and Tony, the story documents the toll secrets, lies, betrayals, and mental illness can have on a couple who once believed they’d found in each other true love. The tale is brutal, oftentimes heartbreaking, but always hopeful as it never deviates from its message. On the road to self-discovery, you will eventually learn that no matter what anyone says—no matter what flawed message you believed about yourself growing up, you are a good person and deserving of love.
A dark psychological drama, Sweet Baby Mine is unputdownable.
About the author
Maria Daversa is a clinical psychologist and the debut author of SWEET BABY MINE which is available now through Amazon in both ebook and paperback. Maria and her husband live in the U.S. with their rescues: a dog and a cat respectively named Bono and Patsy. To learn more about Maria, visit MariaDaversa.com or engage with her on Twitter at @mtdaversa.
On July 30, 2022, Maria spoke with Joelle Tamraz about SWEET BABY MINE. Joelle is a memoir writer and the creator and host of the YouTube series, Elevating Voices in Memoir and Fiction. This snippet provides a look behind the scenes at how and why Maria wrote SWEET BABY MINE. The full video can be found on Joelle’s website at Joelletamraz.com.
Review
‘Sweet Baby Mine’ is an intense, in-depth look at a dysfunctional family. It is a rollercoaster of a read where emotions flip flop all over the place. It shows hatred, love, misunderstandings, lies and deception. The book takes place over a week in their lives and by the end of the first day, I was already exhausted by their emotions and arguments. That is one messed up marriage. The author made you feel as if you were in the room with them. That awkward witness in the corner who can't do anything to stop them.
This was a hard book for me to read. My sister suffers from borderline personality disorder and I found that reading this book triggered a lot of painful memories. But this is a good thing! It means that the author knows their subject and the character’s mental health is accurately being portrayed. It is hard to love someone with this disorder when they are unable to stop themselves from their behaviours etc. I had to keep putting this book down, breathe and reset. Well, I was unable to like Ana I did understand her. She is human. Her actions, thoughts and words come from a place which she does not understand so as a reader we are not going to grasp it either. Having BDP is a lonely experience and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
This is an excellent debut and I can't wait to see what else she writes.
