Eugenia Zukerman explores the dynamic mother-daughter relationship and the special bond that belongs uniquely to women. Share laughter, tears, revelations, and resolutions as over forty accomplished women recall their mothers’ closets, where they tried on clothes, jewelry, and shoes, and imagined the world of being a woman.
Remember & Share Eugenia’s Itinerary Press Inquiries Eugenia Zukerman Order Now	In their mothers’ closets were the secrets to the women they would become. My mother’s closet was both sanctuary and crystal ball, a place in which I escaped the world and a place where, through the scrim of my mother’s clothes, I envisioned my future self. In my mother’s closet my senses came alive. The smells of perfume, shoe polish, wool, leather; the feel of satin, velvet, silk, chiffon—these things had the power to evoke dreams and fantasies . . . And, although it was not forbidden, I always was a afraid to enter it. Afraid of what? Being caught? More likely I feared finding something, some clue that would reveal the mysterious world I knew I would one day enter, the world of being a woman. . . . For each of these women, opening the door to her mother’s closet seemed to unlatch a floodgate of memories and musings that went far beyond clothing and possessions. There were tears and laughter during these interviews, along with insights, revelations, and loving resolutions. The resulting collection of memories taps into myths and rites of passage, and explores the sometimes joyful, sometimes painful intensity of the mother/daughter connection.

We moved five times. The houses were each vastly different, but oddly my mother’s closet seemed to always be the same, the same smells, the same textures. It was truly home turf, it was my continuity with my mother. Being in her closet was almost like being in the womb. - Judy Collins	As a child I had no idea what I was looking for in my mother’s closet, but going in there was an obsession, and I think the strongest obsessions happen when you don’t know what they’re really about. What I do know is that I felt close to my mother when I was in her closet. It is hard to overestimate how important a mother is to a little girl. - Erica Jong	I never felt the need to play-act in the closet, but I did try to piece together the story of who my mother was. - Mary Beth Peil
I love the title of the book . . . how well I remember rainy days in my Mother’s closet, and the steamer trunk of costumes and vintage dresses that my Grandmother kept in her attic. We were only allowed to play in the attic on rainy days. We PRAYED for rainy days. There was an old crank up victrola, console size, and a collection of Caruso and Galacurcci records which we would play ALL afternoon (I still have the records, but not the victrola or the costumes). What a lovely Mother’s Day gift to see your piece on the telly on CBS Sunday Morning this Mother’s Day morning. Happy Mother’s Day to you!!! - Nancy Inman

Cover Design: Katherine Robinson Coleman