For today’s post, I wanted to share books that I love that talk about motherhood and daughter mother relationships. The themes vary from parenting, loss of parent, grief, regrets and pregnancy. I hope these books can offer you a new perspective when it comes to motherhood.
A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold
tw: mass shootings and suicide
I had an ambitious goal of rewatching all 15 seasons of Criminal Minds and CSI this year and I am always so shaken by the episodes with children/teenagers (basically minors) as the perpetrator of a crime. How do their parents feel when their children commit horrific acts? Did the parents notice any signs and wish they could have done something differently?
These are the questions that Sue Klebold struggles to answer after her son committed the 1999 Columbine shootings. At the time, it was the deadliest high school shooting in America until the Stoneman Douglas shooting in 2018. In A Mother’s Reckoning, Sue Klebold reflects on her journey as a mother using personal journals, her son’s writings and mental health experts to understand her son’s actions and her denial. I listened to the audio version and gained another perspective on an important issue.
Jodi Picoult used the Columbine Massacre as research materials for her novel, Nineteen Minutes.
*All the book profits go to mental health charities.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Pachinko has to be the best book I read in 2022 and ever! I think I am biased because I love Min Jin Lee and her work. Her debut novel, Free Food for Millionaires is amazing!Another favourite for me!
Pachinko is a Korean multi-generational family story. Young Sunja falls for a rich Korean man who impregnates her. She refuses to stay with him after he learns that he is married and has kids. Sunja then marries a sick minister and moves with him to Japan. My girl Sunja did not catch a break!!
I loved seeing how each of the mothers in each generation made their decisions. For some it’s for love and financial security. I think it’s kinda crazy how the choices we make right now will affect your family’s generation. If you do not want a connection to your past like Noa, you end up giving up on important opportunities.
I rarely read historical fiction but Pachinko made me want to read more historical fiction. I learnt about the discrimination Koreans faced in Japan, the pachinko game and how Koreans had to apply for alien registration every 3 years in japan.
It’s a long book but so worth it! TRUST ME!!! Min Jin Lee is an icon, she’s a legend and she is the moment.
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies is a collection of nine stories about Black women from the south who grew up in a conservative church. I loved how some of the stories were intimate, funny and showcased their present relationships with the church and their mothers.
I loved Peach Cobbler, a story about a girl who witnessed her mother have an extra-marital affair with their local preacher. I also loved the story about the lesbian couple and how they chose to abandon their mothers because they did not accept their sexuality. You get to understand why so many people, mostly women, choose to leave their church because they do not feel accepted. I thought Instructions for Married Christian Husbands was the most interesting. A woman creates a set of rules for the married men she plans to sleep with which honestly surprised me! This book reminded me of The Mothers by Brit Bennett as they both explore the role of the church and how it affects Black women and girls. I would recommend both books!
Zikora by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda never misses! I think this is Chimamanda’s best work! An amazing short story about Zikora, a prominent DC lawyer from Nigeria, who tells her lawyer boyfriend that she is pregnant and he abandons her! You really cannot spell disappointment without mentioning men. It’s about Zikora navigating her pregnancy alone with her mother and reflecting on how she got herself in such a situation! If you enjoy short stories, I would recommend reading this.
Crying in H-Mart by Michelle Zauner
I love this memoir! Michelle Zauner who also goes by Japanese Breakfast reflects on her life as a Korean immigrant and relationship with her mother. Michelle loses her mother to terminal cancer and shares the devastating journey for herself and family. I always struggle rating memoirs because who am I to judge someone’s life? But this was a 5 star memoir. I highly recommend it!
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reed
This was the first book I read from the Reese Book Club and I loved it so much. One of the best books I have ever read. It’s about Emira, a young Black babysitter, accused of kidnapping the white child she babysits. I absolutely love the commentary about race, class, status and privilege. I loved seeing the relationship between the babysitter and her boss called Alix. I cannot wait for the screen adaptation. I love the TikToks by Caitlin Reilly and wish she plays Alix Chamberlain. She plays the rich white woman role so well. I loved Such a Fun Age so much that I read Uneasy Street: The Anxieties of Affluence by Rachel Sherman because it was referenced in the intro.
Uneasy Street: The Anxieties of Affluence by Rachel Sherman
As mentioned earlier, I read Uneasy Street: The Anxieties of Affluence because it was referenced in Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. I read the book and saw Alix Chamberlain in all the women. Rachel interviews wealthy people (stay at home mothers) in New York and their understanding of their wealth and how they acquired it. I really loved the housewives’ interviews, hearing their thoughts about privilege, parenting styles and their unwillingness to call themselves rich. They are simply ‘well off!’