A Founding Mother by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie follows “founding mother” Abigail Adams from the Revolution to her death. As a big fan of the HBO mini series, and having recently read an Abigail biography, I was very familiar with the overarching story beats as well as lesser known details. However, the book will also read smoothly to those unfamiliar with Abigail’s life. The timeline both Dray and Kamoie present as a narrative can sometimes feel too fast, but it’s understandable one cannot include every detail of a person’s life. I couldn’t help but imagine the actors from the John Adams mini series as I read this book, which Dray and Kamoie even pay homage to in the author’s note.
Despite the interesting subject matter, I for some reason struggled getting into the first maybe 30% of this book. While the Revolution years are largely covered in this section, the writing seemed to favor summary over existing in real time experiencing Abigail’s emotional moments. After that 30% or so mark, the story begins to slow down and breathe enough for the reader to feel and experience alongside Abigail. I feared for a time that the entire book would favor the summary style, but thank goodness it did not!
Perhaps due to my love for the mini series (I cry every time at the end of that!), combined with the heartbreaking descriptions of Abigail’s grief for her lost children, I actually cried reading the end of this book. For those who know the history, Nabby’s cancer surgery is described realistically and brutally. Abigail coming to terms with the substance abuse and mental health issues in her children (something that seemed to run in the family and its descendants) is as heart wrenching as Abigail seeing her daughter fight cancer.
Readers who are fans of Dray and Kamoie’s past Revolution works will no doubt enjoy A Founding Mother, releasing May 5, 2026.
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