"Missing Mom" is the story of Nikki Eaton, a liberated 31-year-old woman who never thought of herself as a daughter until the sudden loss of her mother. After a tumultuous year of sorrow, illumination, and wisdom, Nikki finds a nurturing love from an unexpected source in Oates's moving novel.

Nikki Eaton, single, thirty-one, sexually liberated, and economically self-supporting, has never particularly thought of herself as a daughter. Yet, following the unexpected loss of her mother, she undergoes a remarkable transformation during a tumultuous year that brings stunning horror, sorrow, illumination, wisdom, and even—from an unexpected source—a nurturing love.