Motherhood Memoir

On August 6, 2011, 30 American soldiers aboard Extortion 17 perished in the single greatest loss of Navy SEAL lives. Among them - Aaron Carson Vaughn, a small-town boy who grew up in the hills of Tennessee and lived a life larger than most. Told through the eyes of Karen, Aaron's mother, this tender story of faith, family, and love grips the heart and shows how one family raised an American warrior filled with courage, tenacity, and patriotism. The Vaughn's story is not one about war or about a grieving family, but rather one of triumph.

Longing to return to beer halls and boys, a teenager gives birth to a daughter during the Great Depression but shows the ultimate lack of maternal instinct when her baby is discovered to be missing. Though she claims that a nurse abducted the newborn, the infant, and the anonymous nurse are never seen again. In Minneapolis, Lorene Hermanson is raised on discipline and Christian morality.

Linda is not a woman who shies away from a challenge - the only female swordfish boat captain in the country and a survivor of the real Perfect Storm, she is also a New York Times best-selling author. Through hard work and determination, she had created the peaceful, independent life she craved, living on a rugged island off the coast of Maine. It was all finally coming together… Then came Mariah.

When Catharine H. Murray travels to a small town on the banks of the Mekong River to work at a refugee camp, she falls in love and marries a local man with whom she has three sons. When their middle son is diagnosed with cancer at age five, their pursuit of a cure takes them from Thailand to Seattle, before they eventually return to Thailand, settling on a remote mountaintop. Full of honesty and grace, Now You See the Sky allows the listener to witness the fathomless loss of a beloved child and learn how tragedy can transform us, expand our vision, and make us more fully alive.

This program is read by the author. “Haunting, wild, and quiet at once. A shimmering look at motherhood, in all its gothic pain and glory. I could not stop reading.” —Lisa Taddeo, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Three Women A stressed family, an unplanned pregnancy, and a painful...

A heartfelt and funny collection of journals illuminating the joy, uncertainty, and complexity of modern motherhood. Journey with Anony Mom through her social awkwardness, failed romances, and cycle breaking, as she attempts to embrace her imperfections and murder her inner people-pleaser who just won't die.

I could do it all. I could be everything to everybody. I put every ounce of my being into mothering two beautiful boys, one of whom has a debilitating life-limiting condition. I was fine just the way I was. Just fine - until I wasn't. One day, the wheels fell off. This is the story of my journey and transformation.

In 2009, Jodie Patterson, mother of five and beauty entrepreneur, has her world turned upside-down when her determined toddler, Penelope, reveals, "Mama, I’m not a girl. I am a boy." The Pattersons are a tribe of unapologetic Black matriarchs, scholars, financiers, Southern activists, artists, musicians, and disruptors, but with Penelope’s revelation, Jodie realizes her existing definition of family isn’t wide enough for her child’s needs. In The Bold World, we witness Patterson learning how to meet the needs of her transgender son.

Josiah was 19 with the world at his feet when things changed. Without warning, the new university student's mental health deteriorated to the point that he planned his own death. His mother, bestselling author Amanda Prowse, found herself grappling for ways to help him, with no clear sense of where that could be found. This is the book they wish had been there for them during those dark times.

Whether you're becoming a mum for the first time or you have children who are growing up faster than you could have ever imagined, motherhood can feel like the most joyful and yet the most daunting of times. But you're not alone. From the moment I knew my first baby was a girl I started to plan, hope and dream. I couldn't wait to experience that special bond, but I wondered how I'd feel about being a working mum, how I'd hold on to the person I am.

A real mum's hilariously honest tales of motherhood, mayhem and mental health. 'You see, pre-motherhood I had this image of the sort of motherhood I was going to have. Happy, confident and in total control, breezing through my perfect new mum life, clad in white linen, with a smiley, easygoing baby attached to my hip. But then, something happened.'

When Vanessa Williams was growing up, she had a plan: She'd go to college and major in musical theater; afterward she'd get her MFA from the Yale School of Drama, and then she would embark on a successful career on Broadway. But her life took a detour and she wound up the first black Miss America in September 1983 (an accomplishment that she never planned for or desired), only to be forced to resign ten months later due to a nude photo scandal - much to the shock of her mother, Helen, who had told her, "never pose nude for anyone."

Two months to live. That's what the doctor says. Sally responds with grace and optimism. Marisa responds by closing herself off. If her mother is going to die before she graduates from high school, why even try. Cancer has already ruined everything. Honest and heartfelt, The Goodbye Diaries offers a touching glimpse into both sides of a terminal diagnosis - the one who will leave and the one who will be left behind.

Author Hannibal Johnson flawlessly captures the collective wisdom passed from generation to generation with a beguiling blend of wit, wisdom, and insight. Following each of the heartwarming nostalgic narratives are the most quotable of quotes - the very words that echo through the memories of our childhoods. An imaginative blend of Mama's brand of comforting common sense and her gentle ethical and moral lessons, Mama Used to Say is full of insights as illuminating as they are honest.

If happiness has a hiding place, Roxane Battle may have found it. As a new mom with a divorce decree and a reporting job on the five o'clock news, she landed on a few thorns among the roses as she learned to raise a child by herself while trying to keep it together in front of the camera. Guided by a strong belief things could, and would, get better, Roxane shed a few tears and found a lot of joy. Pockets of joy are what she calls them - moments where it feels like everything is going to be okay.

In Hot Flush, Michelle traces her path from pop stardom with Liberty X through her burgeoning television career and how she came to discover the truth about a gene mutation and its consequences for her. Though her story is undoubtedly unique, what's not is her understanding of living and dealing with the menopause as a hardworking mother and wife, and it is this wisdom that she wants to share with other women - over 13 million women in the UK - estimated to be experiencing the menopause.

There is a secret that young Cassandra Jackson doesn’t know, and it’s evident in the way her father cries her name out in his sleep. Through awkward encounters with family, she comes to realize that she is named after her father's niece, and looks eerily like the child’s mother, both of whom were killed in a car wreck along with her father's beloved mother, and—as she soon discovers—his first wife. Cassandra learns to keep silent about the wreck, but soon learns there is no way to outpace the claw-like grip of her family’s past trauma.

From the creator of the wildly popular blog Mommy Shorts comes Ilana Wiles' first humor book on remarkably average parenting. If you want solid advice about raising kids, this book is not for you. If you want to wallow in your own misery about how having kids is AWFUL, this book is not for you. This book pays homage to the every-parent and suggests that they are the people having the best child-rearing experience of all. This book is an honest guide that celebrates the fun of being a mom.

Throughout her stories of misplaced toys, temper tantrums, and experiences as a physical education teacher, Christine offers observations that will ring true with all mothers. In short, this book offers a virtual high five to women for the million things they manage to miraculously get done.

Let's face it - raising children can take a wrecking ball to your ambitions, your finances, your relationships, even your health. But, as mother of three Shantelle Bisson will tell you, it doesn't have to be that way. In Raising Your Kids Without Losing Your Cool, Shantelle sets out how to get ready for baby's arrival, helps you through the big push, lays it all out on breastfeeding, and makes sure you don't forget to keep having sex. Plus, she'll help you navigate the perils of helicopter parenting, children on social media, and even gender-reveal parties.