“‘Hey!’ my dad answers. ‘Walking off the plane!’

And for a split second I think, Oh, good, Mom and I won’t have to eat alone after all. Like the world hasn’t just exploded. I look over at the puddle again. Blood. That’s definitely what that is.

‘Dad, I think something’s happened to Mom.’”

This quote describes Cleo’s early reaction to discovering that her mother is missing. The illogical thought that pops into Cleo’s head, relief that her father would be joining her for dinner with her mother, is typical of a state of shock. She has not yet internalized the terrible truth of the situation.

“Sometimes you didn’t realize how much you needed something until it was offered to you. Turned out I was absolutely desperate for someone to be gentle with me.”

In this quote, Katrina briefly reprises the second-person “you” perspective that was used in the Prologue. Its application here likewise suggests a certain universality to the sentiment being expressed. It also suggests that Katrina creates a distance between herself (the first person, or “I”) and her needs (expressed in the second person here), possibly due to her traumatic past.

“My mistakes as a mother had been accruing over time, as Cleo grew from little girl to teen and, increasingly, needed me simply to love her, and not to try and fix everything. But instead, I panicked. Because I was excellent at doing. I wasn’t so good at feeling. And I was absolute shit at uncertainty.”

Katrina reflects on her abilities as a mother throughout the novel. She forthrightly acknowledges her strengths and weaknesses in that role. The use of the word “accruing” in this quote suggests that she imagines there is a running counter of all the mistakes she has made. Her references to how she is good at “doing” and not “feeling” and her difficulty with uncertainty all point toward Katrina’s issues with control, an example of The Impact of Past Trauma on the Present.

“And then I was there again, all those years ago, washing my hands again and again in the icy water in Haven House’s downstairs bathroom, trying to scrub clean the beds of my nails. It had been all over my clothes, too, soaked through my gauzy pink shirt. The blood was everywhere.”

In this quote, Katrina, as an adult, is struck by a memory of the aftermath of her attack on Reed when she was a teenager. The language here is vague to create suspense and tension, laying the groundwork for future revelations. The suddenness of her flashback also illustrates how whatever traumatic event the memory is tied to remains a strong influence in her present life.

“CM: Charlie was so sweet and funny and cute and we clicked—I could totally be myself around him. He was my first love. I miss him even now.

EB: So what happened?

CM: My mom. She came along and ruined what Charlie and I had. She ruins everything.”

Like Mother, Like Daughter includes chapters that break from the conventional narrative form. One of these unconventional forms is excerpts of transcripts from Cleo’s therapy sessions, as seen here. Cleo’s discussion of her relationship with her mother during these sessions is something of a trope about talk therapy and the idea that within that context, one blames their parents for their problems. The transcripts also feature the balancing, unbiased perspective of Dr. Bauer, offering a more objective perspective on the tension between Cleo and Katrina.

“My mom would be so good at finding herself.”

This quote represents one of the first moments in the novel where Cleo begins to reevaluate her mother following Katrina’s disappearance. Up to this moment, Cleo has been highly critical of her mother, but here, she acknowledges her mother’s ability to address a crisis. The quote also has an element of darkly humorous irony because one cannot find oneself when missing.

“Your mom isn’t the only one who can be a little rigid. But with her, sometimes I think what she intends as love doesn’t always come across that way. I’m her best friend and I can see that. But I will tell you that your mom loves you more than anything. I think that because of how she grew up…she can’t help seeing the world as a place so dangerous, it needs to be controlled.”

In this quote, Katrina’s best friend, Lauren Pasternak, tells Cleo a little bit about her mother. This quote is important because it gives a perspective on Katrina beyond the first-person perspectives of Katrina and Cleo used throughout the narrative. Lauren describes Katrina’s character from a trusted outside perspective that provides valuable context for and insight into Katrina’s motivations and character.

“CM: She said, ‘I can’t believe you have so little self-respect.’

EB: I’m sorry. That’s very mean. What did you say?

CM: I called her a bitch.

EB: And that was the end of it?

CM: No…Then she said, ‘I can’t believe you’re my daughter.’”

This excerpt from one of Cleo’s sessions with her therapist is an example of a moment that can be understood differently once more of Katrina’s background is revealed. Initially, as the therapist recognizes, Katrina’s response to Cleo reads as straightforwardly “mean.” However, once it is known that Katrina was raped when she was the same age as Cleo was when she had sex for the first time, Katrina’s response becomes more understandable. Katrina equated sex at that age with the trauma she experienced as a child.

“Do I really believe it’s possible that my dad did something to my mom? No. I still do not. But I’ve entertained the possibility. I’ve been willing to ask myself the question. And that has torn a hole in something—something delicate and irreplaceable.”

In this quote, Cleo reflects on her changing understanding of her father and describes her newfound doubts about him. The use of the poetic language “torn a hole in something” here echoes Katrina’s assessment that something “broke” in her relationship with Cleo following Katrina’s “mean” response to Cleo, as described above. In both cases, Cleo’s relationships with her parents are initially damaged by the revelation that they are imperfect.

“‘What about that place she grew up in?’ ‘What do you mean?’ ‘I don’t know specifically. But it always sounded like that home was filled with some real rough characters. Your mom is very successful now. Doesn’t seem entirely impossible that someone from her time there might resurface. It’s something to consider. Desperate people can have very long memories.’”

Katrina’s boss Mark’s comments are ambiguous in a way that creates suspense. He does not describe specifically what kind of trauma Katrina may have experienced during her time at Haven House, but his foreboding comment that “desperate people can have very long memories” engenders dread and almost sounds like a threat. Although it is left ambiguous throughout the novel whether Mark is aware of Katrina’s crime as a juvenile, this comment suggests that he might have some inkling of what happened.

“My mom did tell me some things about Haven House. Stories I could have listened to more closely. Openings for me to ask about her life, her own childhood. And it wasn’t that I was scared or freaked-out—the truth was, I didn’t really care. I never saw my mom as an actual person separate from me. And now that she’s a person who’s missing, I may never have the chance.”

This quote captures a key realization that Cleo has over the course of the novel about the bond between mothers and daughters. Initially, as is natural for most children, Cleo sees her mother as a figure entirely subsumed in her role as a caregiver. In a sign of her growing maturity, Cleo begins to recognize that Katrina is “an actual person separate from [her].” She feels regret that she wasn’t more attentive to this before Katrina’s disappearance, even though this dynamic is typical in parent-child relationships.

“Being a mother is a rigged game, Kat—you know that. There’s no way to win. And from what I can tell, it only gets harder the older they get.”

Lauren comforts her friend Katrina and reassures her that most people fail to some extent in their role as a mother. She characterizes it as a “rigged game,” meaning that it is set up to be impossible to succeed. Lauren notably calls Katrina “Kat,” which few others do. This informal nickname underlines their close relationship and the casual nature of the conversation.

“‘Why would I tell her anything?’ he asks. ‘Because she already knows. I told her. And for the record, that wasn’t a “mistake.” I did it on purpose. Because I’m not covering for you anymore.’”

This is a moment of significant maturity and growth for Cleo. She had previously considered her father “the king of the white lie,” but she nevertheless felt that “[they had] each other’s backs” (65). After realizing that her father gave Detective Wilson information that would make Cleo seem suspicious, she is no longer as accepting of her father’s character flaws. She informs him emphatically that, just as he no longer has her back, she is no longer willing to cover for him.

“Yes. Tell me where. Please leave her alone. Just like that, all the advice I’d given to clients over the years—taking their time, not responding, patience, reserve—went right out the window.”

Despite presenting a tough, capable exterior to the outside world, when it comes to her daughter, Katrina is more emotional and volatile. This quote represents a moment where Katrina yields to her emotions out of concern for her daughter, and it contrasts with her very different response when dealing with professional crises as a fixer. She recites what she has always told clients—“patience, reserve”—but isn’t able to take her own advice. Katrina’s seemingly out-of-character sensitivity in this moment is a demonstration of the bond between mothers and daughters.

“But when Haven House finally comes into view, I nearly tell the driver to turn around and take me back to the station. The faded brick building is massive and menacing against the gray sky. Angry-looking fencing rings the roof. A prison. My mom grew up in a prison.”

Although the narrative provides a perspective on Haven House through Katrina’s journals, she generally speaks of it in relatively vague terms. It is not until Cleo sees it with fresh eyes that it becomes clear that the place is effectively “a prison.” Cleo realizes in this moment the true scale of the challenges that Katrina faced while growing up.

“But I had to lay it all out for Mark now: that Darden had killed Doug to scapegoat him for knowingly leaving a drug on the market that they knew was hurting babies, when Doug had, in fact, tried to hold them accountable. And that Blair, Stevenson might be implicated in helping them cover up Doug’s death.”

This quote succinctly summarizes the complex series of events that ultimately led to Doug Sinclair’s murder. It is a mark of Katrina’s strength of character, courage, and integrity that she decides to confront her employer with what she has discovered, even though it might (and does) imperil her career.

“Maybe finding her is the exact opposite of what she wants right now. I wonder if I love her enough to leave it at that. I’m not sure. Leaving well enough alone is a lot harder than it looks.”

This quote represents a moment where Cleo demonstrates empathy toward her mother, highlighting the bond between mothers and daughters. She puts herself in her mother’s shoes and wonders about what Katrina might want. At the same time, Cleo expresses a desire that mirrors the feelings her mother has about her and is compelled to get involved with her mother’s disappearance in a way that parallels her mother’s desire to get involved in Cleo’s life. She recognizes that it is “a lot harder than it looks” not to interfere in someone’s life when you love and are concerned about them.

“‘What are you apologizing for? It didn’t happen!’ Phil hissed at Mark. ‘What did happen is that your employee screwed my employee and lied to you about it. And now she’s trying to use privileged information to destroy us, your client. It’s unethical and illegal.’

‘Maybe we can dispense with the hysterics and stick to the facts,’ I snapped back.”

In this quote, Phil Beaumont, in-house counsel for Darden, expresses himself like a cartoon villain, illustrated by how he “hisse[s]” his words. In response, Katrina chides him for his “hysterics,” an ironic word choice since hysteria is typically a charge directed at women. In deploying the word “hysterics” here, Katrina simultaneously demasculinizes Phil and criticizes him for acting emotionally rather than logically.

“Because I deserve to be a regular teenager. To have fun. To live a little. To sneak out to see a boy I have a crush on.

Anyway, what’s the worst thing that could happen? It’s Christmas Eve.”

This quote from Katrina’s journal is tragic in two ways. First, Katrina’s comment that she wants to “sneak out to see a boy” represents the extent to which Reed has groomed her and naturalized his pedophilic attraction to her. Reed is not a boy but a college-aged man. By expressing their relationship in those terms, Katrina has normalized their dynamic under his influence. Second, Katrina’s rhetorical question of “what’s the worst thing that could happen?” is answered in the most devasting way, as something terrible does indeed happen. This question acts as a form of foreshadowing of the tragedy to come.

“Maybe in the end that was the most important part of being a mother: being there to do the expected thing again and again.”

This quote is Katrina’s reflection on motherhood following her experiences trying to protect her daughter. She recognizes that although she has failed in expressing her emotions toward her daughter, she has nevertheless fulfilled her duty of doing “the expected thing again and again.” This illustrates the complexity of the bond between mothers and daughters while also highlighting the fact that the “most important” part of parenthood is continuing to show up.

“He disappears toward the bathroom and I flip the book open to the title page. There is a note from Will. Please promise me you’ll be a writer. God gives the gift to few.”

This quote introduces one of the major plot twists in Like Mother, Like Daughter. This inscription is the same as the one Reed wrote in Katrina’s copy of Leaves of Grass and establishes that Reed and Will are one and the same. The narrative doesn’t comment on this connection, however, leaving Cleo to make it explicit.

“‘You cost me everything—money, success, happiness. You cost me everything I deserved. You owe me.’

‘I defended myself.’

‘You know, it’s funny how similar you and Cleo are,’ he went on, smiling suggestively. ‘In nearly every way.’”

This dialogue between Katrina and Will/Reed establishes Reed’s motivations for revenge and highlights how entitled he is as an antagonist. He does not take any responsibility for his actions and their consequences and instead blames the teenage Katrina. His behavior is typical of how an abuser seeks to create distance and avoid culpability for their actions by deflecting onto the victim. This quote also emphasizes the unacknowledged similarities between Katrina and Cleo, as Reed remarks on how “similar” the two are.

“For so much of my life I wanted to believe that I was fine because I had survived. But surviving, I have come to realize, is not the same as being alive.”

Katrina reflects on what she has learned from her ordeal and shows her transformation over the course of the novel. Katrina’s traumatic childhood made her into a survivor, but she did not find much joy in life. After her experiences, she is resolved to live more resolutely because she is no longer in a place where she has to fight simply to survive.