books for every mother

Maybe you love funny and irreverent with a tender dose of mother-love. Or maybe you like poetry and stories that’ll make your heart all swell-y. Maybe you want to learn something, about motherhood and writing or how to chase dreams while being home with a baby. Whatever you love to read, I’m sure you love relatable and real…so here you go, mama friends. All different books by all different mothers for all different mothers…

Fellow Austinite and successful creator behind glamajama, Heather Schuck is honest about the inevitable imbalance that is motherhood and work. What needs to give? How do you go about painting your life on YOUR canvas, the way you’d love to live it? Heather answers these questions and so much more in her vulnerable and inspiring book, The Working Mom’s Manifesto:

My friend Robin O’Bryant is the most honest mother you can find, most likely. She’ll tell you like it is with honesty and hilarity. ENJOY!

Ketchup is a Vegetable and Other Lies Moms Tell Themselves

I met Jen recently, one of the contributors of I Just Want To Pee Alone, and to say it was a pleasure is to sell her short. She’s so funny and so kind, and I know you will love this book for all its good laughs:

Mother Letters:

Mother Letters began a few years ago as a husband’s gift to his wife. Seth Haines collected letters from mothers for his wife, Amber. Many of these letters and some new ones are now an E-book that you can purchase for only $6.99. It’s also available for the Kindle and Nook on the same page as the E-book purchasing page.

A comment from the Mother Letters site says it best,

“Whether we’ve physically given birth, adopted, mentored, or just related to our own mothers, we’ve all got thoughts on motherhood. I can’t get enough of these letters. These words make me braver, make me cry a little, and make me grateful. Highly recommend.” – Lora Lynn

Amy Wilson’s When Did I Get Like This?

I laughed and cried my way through this book. Amy is probably one of the most relatable mother-writers out there. She’s honest and hilarious and even if she confesses often how she really feels, you know her heart is exploding with love for her three kiddos. This is a must-read for every mother, especially mothers weathering the early years in the trenches.

When Did I Get Like This is on Amazon, yo.

The Happiest Mom by Meagan Francis

What happens when we let go and allow ourselves to enjoy motherhood? Maybe, just maybe, we become the happiest mom we can be…

Look what Gretchen Rubin had to say about this book,

“I found myself underlining passages and laughing out loud in recognition. This thoughtful, hilarious look at motherhood is a terrific resource for anyone who wants to be the happiest mother she can be.”–Gretchen Rubin, author of The New York Timesbestseller The Happiness Project

People say Meagan and I look alike, you know. Perhaps her author status will rub off on me one day. As in, maybe I’ll write a book that gets published. FINGERS CROSSED.

Kate Hopper’s Use Your Words

 I sang the praises of this book recently, but I couldn’t do this post without including it again. If you love to write and you happen to be a mother, this is a must-read book. Don’t miss it!

Mom, Incorporated: A Guide to Business + Baby by Danielle Smith and Aliza Sherman

Maybe there’s no such thing as balance. I mean, I am quoted in this book and I say that what we need to embrace as mothers is the imbalance of motherhood, but still, there are ways to have both business and baby without losing your mind. (So honored to be quoted, by the way.) Danielle and Aliza have lived out creating and managing their own businesses while also staying engaged in the baby days of their children. So yes, their expertise is hard-won and totally worth your time if you’re in that same boat. This book holds advice on everything from creating a business plan to embracing the chaos of the daily grind, the reality of business + baby.

Scary Mommy by Jill Smokler

Jill is no stranger to most any mother who spends time online. Her honest take on motherhood is known for its humor and raw, gritty, often profane and always refreshing real-ness. Yes, real-ness, totally a wor-d. Scary Mommy is the book for any mother that needs an escape with a mother who says it like is, no holding back, and agrees that much of this gig is just plain hard and often disgusting. Finding the humor in it all is Jill’s strength, and yet her love for her three children is always felt through her stories on both her blog and in her book. The online community of mothers that has known her for years is cheering her on with the release of her first book,

What motherhood books are your favorites? I’d love to know. 

Oh and speaking of motherhood, my post Please is featured on a site called BonBon Break. If you haven’t read Please, it’s one that other mothers really appreciated and I was so humbled and it is a post with notes to my children.

(Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of Scary Mommy and When Did I Get Like This? for review. These books would have been included in this post either way. Just saying.)