Listen to your heart’s content this Mother’s Day, with titles for all types of self-care
Your partner bought you your favourite chocolates. Your kids brought you breakfast in bed (don’t worry, they’ll clean up the kitchen!). Your friends even called to wish you a happy Mother’s Day. It’s always good to know those closest to you acknowledge the work you do and the sacrifices you make as a mom. But there’s just one other person who needs to acknowledge and thank you this mother’s day: You.
Being a mother is rewarding - but whether you’re a new mom of little ones, or your kids are all grown up - it is work. And any job, no matter how much you love it, needs a little vacation time built in to avoid burnout. After all, as important as it is to care for your kids, it’s important to practise self-care as well.
This Mother’s Day, get yourself the gift of pure, uninterrupted, choose-your-own-adventure ‘me time.’ Get wrapped up in an uplifting audiobook. Sink into the tub with a romance listen. Centre yourself with a yoga title. Pair a dark merlot with an even darker mystery. Whatever self-care activities or self-care ideas you prefer, that’s what your Mother’s Day present should be.
Here, in honour of you, are a few suggestions from Audible for some self-care ideas for you to enjoy this Mother’s Day. And if you aren’t a mother yourself, but want to give your mom the gift of a relaxing, rejuvenating day, consider getting her an Audible membership. Either way, we hope you’ll find these suggestions inspiring and you’ll find some great self-care tips along the way. After all, self-care means self-love and that’s exactly what you deserve!
Catch Up on All Those Recommendations
“Have you heard the new audiobook by so and so? It’s amazing!”
How many recommendations do we get every month, either from friends, family members or from the chatter in our Slack channels? If you’re like many busy moms, there’s a queue of fantastic audiobooks waiting for you, if only you had the time.
This Mother’s Day, clear a space for those audiobooks and podcasts – the ones that make you think, make you laugh, make you cry. The ones that everyone’s buzzing about. A fantastic place to start looking for the buzziest audiobooks is Reese Witherspoon’s oft-discussed Hello Sunshine book club list.
On there, you’ll find titles like Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing, which shot up to the top of the New York Times Fiction Bestseller List for a combined 30 weeks (30 weeks!) between this year and last. The best-selling author’s tale of a girl who grew up alone in the North Carolina marshes is exquisitely detailed, haunting, heartbreaking and addictive. Where the Crawdads Sing is an absolute must-read and will remain a perennial topic among literature lovers for years to come – listen to the audiobook now to join the conversation.
And a more recent entry on Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine list is Glennon Doyle’s Untamed. A relevant listen this Mother’s Day, this audiobook is an intimate and impassioned memoir about family, womanhood, and self-empowerment. It’s tender when it wants to be, angry when it needs to be, and always engaging. If you’re looking to relax and smash the patriarchy this Mother’s Day, Untamed is your audiobook.
For more buzzworthy listens, check out these popular audiobooks on Audible.
Make a Date with Romance, or Sink into a Criminally Addictive Audiobook
Not in a “catch up on recommendations” mood? Totally understandable. With a day of unstructured free fun, sometimes you just want to let your heart do the choosing.
Take your time to discover a new romance title that speaks to you. Find the most “you” romance title you can possibly find, then draw a bath and let the meet cutes begin. If you’re looking for somewhere to start, may we suggest House of Earth and Blood, Book 1 in Sarah J. Maas’ new fantasy romance series? Early Audible reviews call this one a winner!
Or, for a darker spin on relaxation, explore our collection of “Grip-lit” – mysteries and thrillers featuring female leads written by women – and spend your Mother’s Day on a white-knuckle ride that’ll have you shouting, “you’re in danger, girl!” To start, crack a bottle of wine and check out Sarah Pinborough’s new release, Dead to Her, a story of infidelity, jealousy, money, and murder with more twists than that corkscrew you’re holding.
Celebrate You by Celebrating Moms
Listening can help us relax, laugh, think, and feel. And it can also connect us to others. There’s an entire, often-unseen community of mothers across the globe that share similar experiences and feelings. Listening to their stories by hitting play on audiobooks and podcasts on Mother’s Day can be exactly the warm hug you need to feel seen, understood and appreciated. It’s not about being the perfect mom. It’s about appreciating the little things you do every day as a mother. If self-care to you means staying emotionally and spiritually connected to others, consider sharing stories with the moms in your life.
The recently released Audible Original, Can't Take It Back is one such story. It details the interconnected lives of four women who meet through their kids’ kindergarten class, contrasting the complex private lives they lead and the complex bonds they form with one another.
Keep the Relaxation Going
Self-care doesn’t stop at 11:59 pm on Mother’s Day. Give yourself the gift of a commitment to long-term relaxation with one of our health and fitness focused listens. At Audible, you’ll find non-fiction titles on yoga, mental health, mindfulness, sex, and so much more. The best self-help books can be life-changing and empowering, as they help you to target the problem areas in your daily life, improve your overall wellbeing, and inspire you to live your best life.
One of our favourite listens for relaxation, however, is Aaptiv’s 21 Days of Meditation, an easy-to-follow but comprehensive guide for three weeks of mindful, calming and centering meditation. If your kids like to test your patience (as all kids do), this is how you study!
A five-minute break can make your day when you're a busy mom. Psychotherapist Shonda Moralis inspires you to take meaningful breaks and meditation intervals throughout the day to benefit your mental health. Breathe, Mama, Breathe presents over 60 ways to practice mindfulness in five-minute sessions. Easy to follow and quick to execute - why not give these ideas a go?
Putting others before yourself is second nature to most moms. But taking time to focus on yourself is crucial for every mama! Sara Robinson’s Self-Care for Moms presents 150 ideas for practicing self-care - with realistic and accessible activities from 15 minutes to an hour. Whether you require physical relaxation with a facial or foot soak or some mental mindfulness, this guide is packed with quick and easy suggestions for self-care.
For When Kick-ass Moms Need a Pick-me-up
Sometimes you need some words of affirmation to continue doing the hard work you do every day. From inspirational listens to books that’ll help you overcome self-doubt, discover these titles that’ll bring out the badass mom you are.
The proof is in Jen Sincero’s You Are a Badass title. This empowering audiobook inspires you to stop doubting your greatness and live your best life. This straight-to-the-point guide contains funny anecdotes and actionable exercises. It explores how positive thoughts and behaviours can transform your life as a mom and individual.
This #1 New York Times bestseller looks at parenting, relationships, and other key aspects of life in Daring Greatly. The esteemed doctor and writer discusses the importance of being true to yourself and your emotions when practicing self-care and self-love. This motivational title is an absolute must-listen for any mom.
As rewarding as being a mom can be, it can also be a demanding role that rarely has any downtime, and on top of staying caught up on daily tasks, it can feel impossible to do it all and still stay sane. This audiobook from writer, nutritionist and natural health practitioner Zoe Madden provides listeners with a holistic guide to changing the way mothers can prioritize themselves. Listeners will discover what effective self-care looks like and why it is essential to prioritize your health and move past the mom guilt and mom-shaming of doing so. This audiobook has everything you need to start putting yourself first today, from stress-relieving practices, healthy eating, and exercise tips to self-acceptance.
When you picture your dream life, what does it look like? In this audiobook from Robyn L. Gobin, Ph.D., listeners will learn how to make that vision a reality. With proven self-care strategies for every area of your life, this audiobook is an empowering guide to finding the ultimate balance in your relationships, work and life. From tips on being more present in the lives of your family and friends to finding your dream career, this is the ultimate guide to creating a self-care plan. The Self Care Prescription can help elevate your life beyond your wildest dreams and even tackle anxiety and stress. This is one audiobook you will recommend to everyone else in your life.
Elizabeth Gilbert is the beloved writer of Eat, Pray, Love, and now she has written a new book full of the wisdom and insight she has gained about the process of creativity and inspiration. Now available as an audiobook, Big Magic is filled with Elizabeth Gilbert’s inspiring empathy and experience with finding and hanging on to inspiration and embracing the things that pique our curiosity. In this audiobook, listeners will learn about letting go of needless suffering, going after what sets your soul on fire, facing your fears, and living the most creative life possible.
Whatever form self-care and self-love takes in your life, we hope you’ll find it on Audible. Whether it’s catching up on podcast recommendations, indulging in a romance or thriller audiobook, learning a new skill, sharing your experiences with other mothers, or simply fluffing the meditation pillow for a long, calming mindfulness session – we’re there for you this Mother’s Day. Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom or a busy working mother, take the time to reset and recharge by tuning in to a self-care audiobook or podcast today.
Let us know how you like to unwind by joining the conversation on Facebook, or tag us with your favourite listens on Instagram or Instagram Stories.
