Here are 100 books that The Good Mother fans have personally recommended if you like
The Good Mother.
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I am fascinated by the idea of good people, moral people, people you know and like and love, who make terrible choices, wrong decisions, and mistakes that can’t be undone. And when the person who makes the mistake is a mother—my God! How the world turns on them. We live in a society where mothers are judged so harshly, where they are not allowed mistakes, where they are barely allowed to have a life or a want or a desire or a longing not connected to mothering. And so I write about this, and I read about this.
This one I loved for the style as much as the character. I love the use of fragments to weave together a life and it felt true to the life of a mother—that a mother only gets snippets of time to piece together her story and her thoughts. I also loved that Offil was wrestling with such a big issue—how to hold onto oneself while giving so much of your self to a child.
They used to send each other letters. The return address was always the same: Dept. of Speculation.
They used to be young, brave, and giddy with hopes for their future. They got married, had a child, and skated through all the small calamities of family life. But then, slowly, quietly something changes. As the years rush by, fears creep in and doubts accumulate until finally their life as they know it cracks apart and they find themselves forced to reassess what they have lost, what is left, and what they want now.
Written with the dazzling lucidity of poetry, Dept.…
Tina Edwards loved her childhood and creating fairy houses, a passion shared with her father, a world-renowned architect. But at nine years old, she found him dead at his desk and is haunted by this memory. Tina's mother abruptly moved away, leaving Tina with feelings of abandonment and suspicion.
I'm a mother, and at one time, I was a single mother going through a very bitter divorce. I know what it's like to panic that your child will be in an accident, or that the other parent will kidnap the child (even if observers would say I'm overreacting). Looking back, my experience as a mother has permeated both my fiction and nonfiction writing in unplanned ways. Why does my second novel start with a mother kidnapping her own daughter? Why does the subtitle of my fourth nonfiction book cite "Parenting and Other Daily Dilemmas in an Age of Political Activism"?
For me, this novel combines the best of three sharply different types of books: It's a dystopian novel that paints an enthralling (and terrifying) portrait of an invented world. It's a page-turner.
And it's a story that hit some deep emotions in me. The basic narrative is that Frida, the harried and divorced mom of toddler Harriet, leaves Harriet alone while she dashes off to get herself a latte. Okay, that's stupid and risky, though Harriet is unharmed.
But in this book's world, that's enough to land Frida in a "reform school" from which it's almost impossible to prove yourself "perfect" enough to be released. As the story spiraled worse and worse, I couldn't believe this was happening.
I couldn't read another word; no, I couldn't put it down.
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AN OBAMA'S 2022 SUMMER READING PICK
'A taut and propulsive take on the cult of motherhood and the notion of what makes a good mother. Destined to be feminist classic - it kept me up at night' PANDORA SYKES 'A haunting tale of identity and motherhood - as devastating as it is imaginative' AFUA HIRSCH 'Incredibly clever, funny and pertinent to the world we're living in at the moment' DAISY JOHNSON
'We have your daughter'
Frida Liu is a struggling mother. She remembers taking Harriet from her cot and changing her nappy. She remembers…
I'm a mother, and at one time, I was a single mother going through a very bitter divorce. I know what it's like to panic that your child will be in an accident, or that the other parent will kidnap the child (even if observers would say I'm overreacting). Looking back, my experience as a mother has permeated both my fiction and nonfiction writing in unplanned ways. Why does my second novel start with a mother kidnapping her own daughter? Why does the subtitle of my fourth nonfiction book cite "Parenting and Other Daily Dilemmas in an Age of Political Activism"?
As the seemingly idyllic marriage between Eleanor and Cam unraveled, I kept wanting to scream at Eleanor.
Didn't she see what she was doing to her relationship with her kids, by either saying the wrong thing or doing nothing? Yes, it was because of Cam's carelessness that their son, Toby, was horribly injured in an accident, but why didn't she accept Cam's gestures of apology?
And when divorce became inevitable, why did she let Cam keep the farm that their three children loved? Why did she have to fight over every little thing with their elder daughter?
These characters were vividly real to me, and I felt like I was watching helplessly while the wrong person unfairly won the whole prize.
In her most ambitious novel to date, New York Times bestselling author Joyce Maynard returns to the themes that are the hallmarks of her most acclaimed work in a mesmerizing story of a family-from the hopeful early days of young marriage to parenthood, divorce, and the costly aftermath that ripples through all their lives
Eleanor and Cam meet at a crafts fair in Vermont in the early 1970s. She's an artist and writer, he makes wooden bowls. Within four years they are parents to three children, two daughters and a red-headed son who fills his pockets with rocks, plays the…
Tina Edwards loved her childhood and creating fairy houses, a passion shared with her father, a world-renowned architect. But at nine years old, she found him dead at his desk and is haunted by this memory. Tina's mother abruptly moved away, leaving Tina with feelings of abandonment and suspicion.
I'm a mother, and at one time, I was a single mother going through a very bitter divorce. I know what it's like to panic that your child will be in an accident, or that the other parent will kidnap the child (even if observers would say I'm overreacting). Looking back, my experience as a mother has permeated both my fiction and nonfiction writing in unplanned ways. Why does my second novel start with a mother kidnapping her own daughter? Why does the subtitle of my fourth nonfiction book cite "Parenting and Other Daily Dilemmas in an Age of Political Activism"?
I was hooked by the unexpected opening sentence: "The first time I saw my granddaughters, I was standing across the street, didn't dare go any closer."
What had gone wrong? Why was a grandmother so estranged from her own grandchildren?
As the novel unspooled, it double-backed into other surprise twists, and the characters and motivations weren't as clear-cut as they'd seemed. Leah, the mother of the two granddaughters, wasn't being juvenile, impulsive, or heartless when she broke off contact with her parents. Yoella, the grandmother, wasn't as loving and innocent as she thinks she was—and how much does she realize, in fact?
I loved the way the book sometimes said more between the lines than in the actual words.
WINNER OF THE SAPIR PRIZE 2022
'A mesmerising, disquieting tale of family estrangement ... Unforgettable' OBSERVER
'A striking and memorable novel' MEG WOLITZER
'A stone-cold masterwork of psychological tension. Its final pages had me holding my breath' NEW YORK TIMES
'Hila Blum is my new favourite writer' LOUISE KENNEDY
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What damage do we do in the blindness of love?
Thousands of miles from her home, a woman stands on a dark street, peeking through well-lit windows at two little girls. They are the daughters of her only daughter, the grandchildren she's never met.
At the centre of this mesmerising…
I am fascinated by the idea of good people, moral people, people you know and like and love, who make terrible choices, wrong decisions, and mistakes that can’t be undone. And when the person who makes the mistake is a mother—my God! How the world turns on them. We live in a society where mothers are judged so harshly, where they are not allowed mistakes, where they are barely allowed to have a life or a want or a desire or a longing not connected to mothering. And so I write about this, and I read about this.
I couldn’t put it down, and thirty years after its publication, as with Sue Miller’s book, I still feel the emotions I felt reading it. I can’t think of a better recommendation for any book. I still care about the characters. I wonder how the main character, Alice, is doing. Simply writing this answer makes me want to go back and read the book again—it will be my fourth or fifth read.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the author of the widely acclaimed The Book of Ruth comes a harrowing, heartbreaking drama about a rural American family and a disastrous event that forever changes their lives.
"It takes a writer of rare power and discipline to carry off an achievement like A Map of the World. Hamilton proves here that she is one of the best." —Newsweek
The Goodwins, Howard, Alice, and their little girls, Emma and Claire, live on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. Although suspiciously regarded by their neighbors as "that hippie couple" because of their well-educated, urban background, Howard and…
I am fascinated by the idea of good people, moral people, people you know and like and love, who make terrible choices, wrong decisions, and mistakes that can’t be undone. And when the person who makes the mistake is a mother—my God! How the world turns on them. We live in a society where mothers are judged so harshly, where they are not allowed mistakes, where they are barely allowed to have a life or a want or a desire or a longing not connected to mothering. And so I write about this, and I read about this.
I fell in love with Martha, the main character who is struggling with an unnamed depression and who because of this assumes she can never be a good mother. She is so surprising and real and sad and impossible to love and funny—I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to see if things would work out for her.
I am fascinated by the idea of good people, moral people, people you know and like and love, who make terrible choices, wrong decisions, and mistakes that can’t be undone. And when the person who makes the mistake is a mother—my God! How the world turns on them. We live in a society where mothers are judged so harshly, where they are not allowed mistakes, where they are barely allowed to have a life or a want or a desire or a longing not connected to mothering. And so I write about this, and I read about this.
I teach writing with this book because it’s brilliant in its depiction of an ordinary family in all the beautiful routine wonderful ways all families are ordinary. I felt as if I were living in this household. I felt as if the mother were my good friend. How does Quinlen make you want to turn the pages of such an ordinary life—until, of course, nothing is ordinary.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this “spellbinding” (The New York Times Book Review) novel, the author of Still Life with Bread Crumbs creates an unforgettable portrait of a mother, a father, a family, and the explosive, violent consequences of what seem like inconsequential actions.
“In a tale that rings strikingly true, [Anna] Quindlen captures both the beauty and the breathtaking fragility of family life.”—People
Mary Beth Latham has built her life around her family, around caring for her three teenage children and preserving the rituals of their daily life. When one of her sons becomes depressed, Mary Beth focuses…
I'm a mother, and at one time, I was a single mother going through a very bitter divorce. I know what it's like to panic that your child will be in an accident, or that the other parent will kidnap the child (even if observers would say I'm overreacting). Looking back, my experience as a mother has permeated both my fiction and nonfiction writing in unplanned ways. Why does my second novel start with a mother kidnapping her own daughter? Why does the subtitle of my fourth nonfiction book cite "Parenting and Other Daily Dilemmas in an Age of Political Activism"?
At the heart of this novel is a brave and scary question that (luckily) I and most parents never need to consider: What if your child does something too awful for you to forgive?
The story is told through alternating timelines and points of view—through the voices of Maya, an English professor and mother, and of Ellie, her teenage daughter.
We know from the start that Ellie has done something unforgivable, and that Maya needs to forgive her. But first, Maya needs to reach her, and Ellie refuses to accept that outreach.
I loved the way this book intertwines so many threads while keeping me on the edge of my seat for the answers.
When Maya Taylor, an English professor with a tendency to hide in her books, sends her daughter to Florida to look after a friend's child, she does so with the best of intentions; it's a chance for Ellie, twenty and spiraling, to rebuild her life. But in the sprawling hours of one humid afternoon, Ellie makes a mistake she cannot take back. In two separate timelines-before and after the catastrophe-Maya and Ellie must try to repair their fractured relationship and find a way to transcend not only their differences but also their more troubling similarities. "[Melding] psychological insight, precise plotting…
As a Certified Divorce Coach and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®, I work with clients during one of the most difficult stages of their lives. Clients often feel regretful about the past and fearful for the future, and the right book recommendation can really help them move forward. I often give clients reading assignments between coaching sessions that help them process their grief, figure out their goals, educate themselves about finances, feel less alone in the divorce process, and become more confident in making major decisions. I’m never not reading on this subject.
New York Divorce attorney Jacqueline Newman’s The New Rules of Divorce: Twelve Secrets to Protecting Your Wealth, Health and Happiness is a great divorce primer, tackling everything from contemplating divorce to dating after divorce. The book is charming and funny as well as deeply practical. While the book will probably appeal the most to wealthy women, it offers useful advice for anyone contemplating or going through a divorce.
"You can waste vast amounts of money by hiring the wrong lawyer while engaging in a high conflict divorce. Newman shows people the playbook and provides real tactics for breaking up in a more humane fashion." -Alec Baldwin, actor, producer, New York Times bestselling author
The definitive guide to navigating divorce in today's world from one of America's top matrimonial lawyers.
Marriage as we know it in America has changed-and so, too, has divorce. Women are outearning men. Fathers are winning custody battles. Same-sex marriage is law. In this remarkably insightful and clear guide, elite New York City divorce attorney…
I’m a professor of modern Britain with a specialty in nineteenth-century social history. I’m drawn to sources and topics that tell us about how everyday people lived and thought about their lives. One favorite part of my job is the challenge of discovering more about those groups, like working-class women or children, who weren’t the main focus of earlier histories. Since 2000, I’ve taught classes at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, on Victorian Britain, the British Empire, the First World War, and the history of childhood.
I’m captivated by Caroline Norton’s spirit and contradictions. She fought against inequality in English laws regarding child custody, marriage, divorce, contracts, property, and wages. But she continually maintained that she was against the idea of women’s suffrage or equality with men, writing instead that she claimed only one right: the right of women’s protection under the law.
I appreciate how she makes us think about the law in new ways, and also admire her candid writing about domestic violence. When her brutal husband destroyed her letters, attacked her, and took away her children and her income, she promised that as long as he held her copyrights, all her future writings would address only the issue of women and the law.
This account of the author's experience at the hands of an "imperfect state of law" in early 19th-century England makes a passionate plea for equal justice for women. Largely as a result of this book the passage of the Married Women's Property Act and reform of the English Marriage and Divorce Laws occurred some years later.
