In celebration of all the moms out there, I’ve culled this list of six books that capture the glory and hardships faced by women as related to their role as moms. This Mother’s Day gift yourself a few hours curled up with one of these terrific books.
“Holly Banks could not have made a worse first impression on the seemingly perfect moms in her new affluent community, the Village of Primm. Not to mention Holly’s worried her husband may be having an affair, she can’t get her daughter to stop sucking her thumb, her hard-won film degree is collecting dust, and to top it all off, the power-hungry PTA president clearly has it in for her…To make matters even worse, Holly’s natural eye for drama lands her smack-dab in the middle of a neighborhood mystery. Through it all, Holly begins to realize her neighbors may be just as flawed as–and even wackier than–she is, leaving her to wonder: Is there such a thing as a perfect mom?“
The antics in Holly Banks Full of Angst by Julie Valerie will appeal to all the affluent suburban moms out there. If you’ve ever belonged to a PTA and been made to feel inadequate as a result then this is the book for you. This novel will have you laughing out loud and feeling more competent by the minute. The good news is that when you’re done the story continues in The Peculiar Fate of Holly Banks. And you can catch an interview with the author Julie Valerie here.
“In 1969, Ginny Richardson’s heart was torn open when her baby girl, Lucy, born with Down Syndrome, was taken from her. Under pressure from his powerful family, her husband, Ab, sent Lucy away to Willowridge, a special school for the “feeble-minded.” Two years later, when Ginny’s best friend, Marsha, shows her a series of articles exposing Willowridge as a hell-on-earth, she knows she can’t leave her daughter there. With Ginny’s six-year-old son in tow, Ginny and Marsha drive to the school to see Lucy for themselves. What they find sets their course on a heart-racing journey across state lines—turning Ginny into a fugitive. Keeping Lucy is a searing portrait of just how far a mother’s love can take her.“
Keeping Lucy is the kind of book that just tugs at your heartstrings. What’s not to love? A mom doing trying to do right by her child in the face of backlash from her family and the law. A darling little girl with Down Syndrome. And a best friend who risks everything to help. It’s a road trip, a family saga, and historical fiction all rolled into one well-written package. This novel was also featured in my post 5 Books Featuring Fantastic Friendships.
“In this anthology of creative nonfiction, twenty-eight writers set out to discover what they know, and don’t know, about the person they call Mother. Celebrated writers Samia Serageldin and Lee Smith have curated a diverse and insightful collection that challenges stereotypes about mothers and expands our notions of motherhood in the South. The mothers in these essays were shaped, for good and bad, by the economic and political crosswinds of their time. Whether their formative experience was the Great Depression or the upheavals of the 1970s, their lives reflected their era and influenced how they raised their children. The writers in Mothers and Strangers explore the reliability of memory, examine their family dynamics, and come to terms with the past.”
This collection of essays displays the writing of many talented Southern writers. Mothers and Strangers is the perfect book for busy moms grabbing a few minutes here and there to read. Each of these writers attempts to better understand their mothers as reflections of their time and circumstance. Rather than trumpeting some schmaltzy tribute to motherhood, these essays beautifully capture the complexity of the mother-child relationship. I love how, as a whole, the collection displays the rich diversity of the new South.
“The End of Miracles is a twisting, haunting story about the drastic consequences of a frustrated obsession. A woman with a complex past wants nothing more than to become a mother, but struggles with infertility and miscarriage. She is temporarily comforted by a wish-fulfilling false pregnancy, but when reality inevitably dashes that fantasy, she falls into a depression so deep she must be hospitalized. The sometimes-turbulent environment of the psychiatry unit rattles her and makes her fear for her sanity, and she flees. Outside, she impulsively commits a startling act with harrowing consequences for herself and others. This emotionally gripping novel is a suspenseful journey across the blurred boundaries between sanity and madness, depression and healing.“
The End of Miracles by psychiatrist Monica Starkman authentically portrays the grief, anger, guilt, self-recrimination, and obsession of a woman struggling with infertility. This dark tale might strike a chord with women who’ve faced similar struggles and those who love them. Also, check this interview with the author entitled: “How Do I Stay Sane During a Pandemic?“.
“When 8-year-old Vinni Stewart disappears from a Jersey shore town, Maddy, her distraught single mother, begins a desperate search for her daughter. Maddy’s 5-year journey leads her to Brooklyn, where she stumbles upon something terrifying. Ultimately, her artist neighbor Evelyn reconnects Maddy to her passion for painting and guides her to a life transformed through art. Detective John D’Orfini sees more than a kidnapping in the plot-thickening twists of chance surrounding Vinni’s disappearance, but his warnings to stay away from the investigation do not deter Maddy. When the Russian Mafia warns her to stop sniffing into their business, Maddy must make a choice whether to save one child–even if it might jeopardize saving her own.“
A Matter of Chance by Julie Maloney straddles genres by exploring the psychological struggles faced by Maddy in the wake of her daughter’s disappearance and bridging that with a crime novel. This book will have you turning pages all night.
Don’t miss this Literary Care Package for Young Mothers and this Literary Care Package for Moms During Covid.