Motherhood Memoir

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.

Growing up as the daughter of a dedicated surgeon, Elizabeth L. Silver felt an unquestioned faith in medicine. When her six-week-old daughter, Abby, was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit with sudden seizures, and scans revealed a serious brain bleed, her relationship to medicine began to change. The Tincture of Time is Silver's gorgeous and haunting chronicle of Abby's first year. It's a year of unending tests, doctors' opinions, sleepless nights, and, above all, uncertainty.

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.'

Mama Made the Difference comes straight from the heart of the Jakes family to yours. In his uplifting and powerful voice, Bishop Jakes shares personal stories about growing up in his mother's home, revealing the time-honored lessons and values she taught him. Woven into his personal vignettes are inspirational biblical stories about mothers, heartfelt advice for modern-day moms, and testimonials from other prominent African-American figures about the importance of motherhood.

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.

Jane is to the world a charismatic personality—opinionated, an inner-city teacher and public activist, a lover of Italy, proud and successful—who thrives on a carefully crafted life narrative. Susannah, her beautiful only daughter and her intended protege, senses the stricter, darker truth, and fights to resist the control imposed on her by her mother's narcissistic tale, especially as Susannah becomes a mother herself. But then Jane at seventy-five, healthy and fit, chooses suicide, leaving her daughter with grief and the unwelcome gift of forty-five years of hidden diaries

When a doctor pronounced Dara-Lynn Weiss's daughter Bea obese at age seven, the mother of two knew she had to take action. But how could a woman with her own food and body issues - not to mention spotty eating habits - successfully parent a little girl around the issue of obesity?

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.

Alexandra Collier was a writer living in a light-filled Brooklyn brownstone in New York with the man she loved. But when she woke up to a ravenous hunger to have a baby that her partner didn't share, she had to make a choice between love or a future family. From defying her family's expectations to searching for sperm and navigating pregnancy alone, Ally deftly takes us through the ecstatic, complicated and demanding path to becoming a solo mother by choice.

Funny, acutely observed, frighteningly honest and drawing on her own and hundreds of other mum's real experiences, Stephanie Calman serves up the perfect antidote to all those books that tell you that your children must be perfect, and to all those Stepford mums and kids out there who look as if they just might be: perfectly groomed, perfectly behaved and perfectly brilliant.

Dana Bowman can't escape the lure of perfectionism, trying to be a flawless wife, mother, and person in recovery. When Dana experiences a short-lived relapse during the Christmas holiday, she has the startling realization that recovery is more than just giving up alcohol. In this funny and revealing follow-up to her best-selling book Bottled, Dana reflects on how we live in a society of excess, always pushing ourselves to do and be better. However, it doesn’t take her long to realize that self-care and getting over herself is the key to happiness.

Women today feel pressure to be the best wife, mom, and professional possible - often at the expense of their own identity. But what if you could experience deep peace - knowing you are loved right now, just as you are? In Brave Love, the founder of the multi-million-dollar company Lisa Leonard Designs inspires women to find themselves again amidst the noise and competing demands of real life.

Marianne Leone's Ma is in many senses a larger-than-life character, one who might be capable, even from the afterlife, of shattering expectations. Born on a farm in Italy, Linda finds her way to the United States under dark circumstances, having escaped a forced marriage to a much older man, and marries a good Italian boy. She never has full command of English, especially when questioned by authorities, and when she is suddenly widowed with three young children, she has few options.

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.

Enthusiastic, spunky, and positive, Punky Brewster was the quintessential eighties kid. Nearly thirty years later, Soleil Moon Frye---the adorable girl who played her on TV---is all grown up. Now she's a married mom of two, an entrepreneur who parlayed her successful kids' clothing line into a partnership with Target, and a social media whiz with millions of followers.

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.

"There is really no better indicator you're a mother than acquiring the ability to catch throw-up in a plastic bag, disinfect your hands, and immediately ask your friend to pass the beef jerky as you put on another Taylor Swift song and act as if nothing has happened." This is the type of insight Melanie Shankle offers in this quirky memoir of motherhood.

علقت مرة الكاتبة الانجليزية كاثرين مانسفيلد بصوتها الآسر قائلة "أكون صادقة مع نفسي؟ لكن أية نفس؟ أية واحدة من أنفسي العديدة؟ بالطبع سينتهي بك الأمر إلى مئات الأنفس.. تسأل لماذا؟ ألست ترى كل هذا التعقيد والكبت والقمع والانعكاسات! تمر علىَ لحظات أشعر فيها بأنني لا شيء سوى عاملة الاستعلامات في فندق مفتوح لا مالك له ولا مدير.." هكذا يمكننا تعريف الأمومة بشكل أولي.

This diary of acclaimed psychologist and radical feminist icon Phyllis Chesler was a pioneering work when it was first published in 1979. A look into the second wave of feminism and the era’s changing attitudes toward motherhood and pregnancy, With Child - now with an updated preface from her son - remains relevant for mothers today.