Though the mothers in these stories run the gamut from loving and self-sacrificing to downright abusive, they all affect their children by their decisions or, in a few cases, by their deaths or absences. “The Future Looks Good” establishes this basic premise by depicting several different mothers, each of a different type. Ezinma’s father’s mother represents the self-sacrificing, often stern, maternal archetype. Buchi, in “Buchi’s Girls,” understands and accepts this role. She is gentle with her daughters, but she also makes the hard choice to send Louisa away for her own good, knowing that Louisa may resent her unless and until she comes to understand her mother’s limited choices.

Ezinma’s father’s mother also illustrates how a mother’s death affects her children. Her death puts Ezinma’s father at the mercy of his stepmother, who “regards him as one would a stray dog that comes by often enough that she knows its face, but [will] be damned if she’ll let him in” (1-2). That kind of self-centered mother forms another type featured in the collection—most prominently in “Windfalls.” Amara’s mother uses her as both an accomplice and bait in her scams, even making her underaged daughter perform sexual acts to receive favors.