10 Books About Motherhood You Need to Add to Your Reading List

Updated on 2/23/2018 at 4:10 PM

When I became a parent, I craved stories about the experience of motherhood. I talked to friends about their anxieties, turned to relatives who might have insights, and sought advice from just about anywhere I could find it. After diving headfirst into blogs, social media, and Google — a new parent's best friend and enemy — I returned again and again to books. And not just how-to books, either, but also essays, novels, and memoirs. Motherhood can be quite the roller coaster, so why not learn more about how other people navigate the ride?

Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace

Ayelet Waldman offers an honest, witty glimpse into modern motherhood in her memoir, Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace.

Motherest: A Novel

Motherest by Kristen Iskandrian is a coming-of-age story about a college student who grapples with building a connection to her mother while becoming one herself.

What My Mother Gave Me: Thirty-One Women on the Gifts That Mattered Most

The powerful relationship between mothers and daughters is captured through the real-life stories of authors and journalists in What My Mother Gave Me: Thirty-One Women on the Gifts That Mattered Most.

Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year

Beloved author Anne Lamott chronicles the sometimes hilarious, oftentimes challenging experience of early motherhood in her popular book Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year.

Little Earthquakes: A Novel

Novelist Jennifer Weiner brings her signature wit to the world of parenting with Little Earthquakes, which follows three women's journeys through new motherhood.

All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood

Bestselling author Jennifer Senior's All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood references history, psychology, and philosophy to dig into the effects of being a parent.

I Don't Know How She Does It: A Novel

I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson tells the story of a wife, hedge-fund manager, and mother of two who navigates the everyday balance of the modern working mom.

Eleven Hours

In Eleven Hours, a novel, Pamel Erens explores the stories of two soon-to-be moms as they experience childbirth and early motherhood.

It Sucked and Then I Cried

Blogger Heather Armstrong offers a candid, funny glimpse into pregnancy and parenting in It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita.

Little Labors

In Little Labors, Rivka Galchen shares thoughts, lists, stories, and meditations on children and literature.