Like Mother, Like Mother

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of mental illness and child abuse.

In the present timeline in 2023, Lila Pereira’s death was widely reported because she was a well-known journalist. She retired only two months before her death and was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer at 65. Her husband, Joe Maier, and two older daughters, Stella and Ava, spoke at the service, but her youngest, Grace, did not. Grace, whose best friend Ruth was also there, felt guilty ever since publishing her book, The Lost Mother, the year before. Lila’s memorial was packed with guests, including her long-time publisher, Doug Marshall. Her sister, Clara, said the Kaddish, as Lila’s family is Jewish.

Lila always referred to Stella and Ava, who are one year apart, as the Starbirds; they look like her, and they have her last name. Grace looks like Joe and has his last name. The girls were raised by Joe and nannies, as Lila claimed to know nothing about mothering, in part because she didn’t have a mother. When Lila described her childhood and her father Aldo’s behavior, she would say only what happened without drawing conclusions. Joe seethed when he heard the abuse she endured and compared Aldo to the villain in Oliver Twist.