Motherhood Essays

When Mindy and her best friend, B.J. Novak, are approached on a dark street by a Charles Manson-esque character, naturally they’re unnerved. Turns out he’s a huge fan of The Office! Now Mindy’s feeling a little judgy. But the night is young, unseasonably hot, and getting weirder. Mindy and B.J.’s brief encounter with the drifter is about to take an unexpected turn in Sunset Junction.

How do you raise children in a world rapidly being reshaped by climate change? How do our narratives about climate change and care help us or hinder us in our efforts to get it right? Little Apocalypses seeks to explore these urgent questions, helping us navigate the existential predicament of parenting on a planet in crisis.

Welcome to essayist Kimberly Harrington’s poetic and funny world of motherhood, womanhood, and humanhood, not necessarily in that order. It’s a place of loud parenting, fierce loving, too much social media, and occasional inner monologues where timeless debates are resolved such as Pro/Con: Caving to PTO Bake Sale Pressure (“Pro: Skim the crappiest brownies for myself. Con: They’re really crappy.”) With accessibility and wit, she captures the emotions around parenthood in artful and earnest ways.

In a series of intimate and humorous dispatches, McOuat examines her identity as a queer woman, and as a mother, through the lens of the pop culture moments in the '80s and '90s that molded her identity. McOuat stirs the ingredients required to conjure an unsettled spirit: the horrors of pregnancy and motherhood, love and loss, the supernatural, kaleidoscopic sexuality, near-miss experiences, and the unexplained moments in life that leave you haunted.

Most people who talk about motherhood start out by telling you how much they always wanted to be a mom. Not Lisa-Jo Baker. She was 18 and growing up in South Africa when her mom died, and she swore she would never have kids. But then she fell in love with an American boy with cowboy-green eyes, married him, and now, a decade and two continents later, they have three. This is the unlikely story of how she got there.

Join Leslie Means, founder of the popular website Her View From Home, as she weaves together a powerful, emotional collection of essays from women of all ages and stages. These real-life, straight-to-the-heart stories will make you laugh, cry, and nod along. No two mothers are alike. No two experiences in motherhood mirror each other. But something powerful happens when our stories come together: they speak love, worth, value, and beauty. They take the undefinable experience of motherhood and give it shape and substance and strength. They speak to us all.

In this emotionally powerful and intellectually provocative blend of memoir, cultural criticism, and theory, scholar and essayist Samira Mehta reflects on many facets of being multiracial. Born to a white American and a South Asian immigrant, Mehta grew up feeling more comfortable with her mother’s family than with her father’s—they never carried on conversations in languages that she couldn’t understand or blamed her for finding the food was too spicy.

In this anthology of creative nonfiction, 28 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.

The experience of motherhood is monumental, yet rarely discussed in connection with literary or creative life. How do we navigate the twin devotions of love and art? How does motherhood disrupt the creative process? How does it enhance it? Good Mom on Paper is a collection of twenty essays that goes beyond the clichés to explore the fraught, beautiful, and complicated relationship between motherhood and creativity. Honest and intimate, critical and hopeful, this collection offers solace and joy to creative mothers and asks how we can better support their work.

Aman a sus hijos, pero se arrepienten de ser madres. #madresarrepentidas es un tratado de pensamiento radical que no dejará indiferente a nadie. En este ensayo controvertido, tan minucioso como iluminador, la socióloga Orna Donath examina la dimensión del tabú, desactiva los dictados sociales y deja que sean las propias madres quienes hablen de sus experiencias. Así, #madresarrepentidas se erige como un nuevo e imprescindible manifiesto feminista, llamado a romper barreras.

Coming out to Mom is a lesbian rite of passage. In the third edition of this landmark anthology, 34 remarkable women face their fears and confusion, prejudice and misunderstandings, and speak honestly and bravely about the difficulties and joys of life with their "different daughters". Among the topics of discussion are family, community, religion, grandchildren, bisexuality, transgenderism, and coming out.

Winner of Child magazine's Book of the Year award for her hilarious and candid book on single motherhood, The Lunch-Box Chronicles, Marion Winik returns to the topic of parenting in these nine essays. Beginning with the story of her second wedding and her move to rural Pennsylvania, she covers everything from blending families and having a child in one's 40s to dealing with the legal problems of teenage boys to the evolution of the values of a family over generations.

Are you planning for or expecting a newcomer in your family? Are you raising young children and could use every bit of advice you can get? "No one said it would be easy, but it would be worth it." The maxim that applies in many cases is so true here. Here’s a book chock-full of tips and ideas to help you not just understand the process of parenting but enjoy it. Do you want to turn your everyday parenting challenges into a fulfilling experience? This book is for you. While written mainly for parents with young kids, parents of tweens and teens would also benefit from the book.

Motherhood is absolutely hilarious if you're not too exhausted to notice! These writings feature funny, blogging moms who chronicle motherhood from a uniquely contemporary perspective. From labor pains to potty disasters, weight gain, holiday mayhem, teen angst, empty nest syndrome, home renovations and even colonoscopy exams, See Mom Run is the perfect prescription for today's harried parents!

In this 10th anniversary edition, renowned political commentator Cokie Roberts once again examines the nature of women's roles. From mother to mechanic, sister to soldier, Roberts reveals how much progress has now been made and how much further we have to go. Updated and expanded to include a diverse new cast of women, including Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Billie Jean King, and others, this collection of essays offers tremendous insight into the opportunities and challenges that women encounter today.

Too tired to think? No time to read books? Zibby Owens gets it. Award-winning podcaster of Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books and mother of four (ages six to 14) compiled 53 essays by 49 authors to help the rest of us feel understood, inspired, and less alone.

In her literary debut, internationally award-winning writer Courtney Zoffness considers what we inherit from generations past - biologically, culturally, spiritually - and what we pass on to our children.

Acclaimed author Lauren Slater ruminates on what it means to be family. Lauren Slater's rocky childhood left her cold to the idea of ever creating a family of her own, but a husband, two dogs, two children, and three houses later, she came around to the challenges, trials, and unexpected rewards of playing house. In these autobiographical pieces, Slater presents snapshots of domestic life, populating them with the gritty details and jarring realities of sharing home, life, and body in the curious institution called "family."

You're in Good Company: The Gift of Friendship, Motherhood, and Showing Up mixes personal stories, reflections, and helpful ideas, all based on the belief that hospitality doesn’t need to be perfect to matter. From folding laundry together on the living room floor to sobbing together at the top of a hike, these essays will prompt you to laugh, cry, and immediately pick up your phone to text a friend.

Sarah Ferguson's homage to her mother and a reflection on mothers and daughters. A mother's love over decades and across continents. The sudden death of Sarah's mother reveals their relationship with poignant clarity and shows her the individual who existed beyond motherhood.