In honor of Mother’s Day this month, I’m going to be sharing my favorite books on motherhood and parenting. I don’t know about you, but I love a book that makes me feel I’m not alone on this crazy, wild, and beautiful journey of being a mother. Happy Mother’s Day to all of my fellow mommies!
Title: Cat and Nat’s Mom Truths: Embarrassing Stories and Brutally Honest Advice on the Extremely Real Struggle of Motherhood
Authors: Catherine Belknap and Natalie Telfer
Publisher: Harmony
Publication Date: March 12, 2019
Format: Hardcover
Length: 224 Pages
Cat and Nat, online media celebrities, dish about everything motherhood in their new book, Mom Truths. The book will make you laugh, cry and feel like you are talking to two of your best girlfriends. Cat and Nat discuss all the brutal honest truths of labor and delivery, husbands, marriage after baby, friendship and life with little ones. It’s definitely on my favorites list. Grab a copy for you and your BFF.
Click here to purchase.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
From the publisher:
CATHERINE BELKNAP and NATALIE TELFER have been friends since they were teens but grew closer with motherhood when they chose to confide in each other about the more taboo topics of parenting. It wasn’t long after that when they decided to bring the conversation online in hopes of helping other moms feel less isolated. Their rapidly exploding community of like-minded moms tune in every day to watch them rewrite the paradigm of “the perfect mom.” Cat & Nat share everything moms think, but are too afraid to talk about. Find them online at https://www.catandnat.ca or on all social channels @catandnat
- Title: Surprised by Motherhood
- Author: Lisa Jo-Baker
- Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
- Publication Date: April 1, 2014
- Format: Paperback
- Length: 240 Pages
I purchased Surprised by Motherhood when Ella was four and it is honestly one of the most beautiful and encouraging books on motherhood. Lisa-Jo Baker is so honest about the challenges and insecurities of motherhood. She shares her personal journey that helped mold her into the women she is today. If you are looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift for a new mom, this is it.
From the publisher:
Lisa-Jo Baker is the author of Never Unfriended and Surprised by Motherhood, as well as the Bible Study, We Saved You a Seat. She lives just outside Washington, DC, with her husband and their three very loud kids, where she connects, encourages and champions women online and in person through her honest take on life and her ability to laugh at herself and learn out loud from her mistakes. As the community manager at the website incourage.me since 2010, Lisa-Jo has had the chance to engage hundreds of conversations with women about friendship. And she’s convinced that the shortest distance between strangers is a shared awkward story. She’d love to connect with you at her website: lisajobaker.com or on Instagram @lisajobaker
- Title: Nurture Shock: New Thinking about Children
- Author: Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman
- Publisher: Twelve
- Publication Date: January 5, 2011
- Format: Hardcover
- Length: 352 pages
I read this book two years ago and remember it being one of my favorite books on parenting. Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman discuss sibling relationships, pros and cons of private school, technology’s influence on children’s thinking, diversity and why kids from the best homes may struggle with behavior problems. The authors take what they have learned and apply it to their own children. The book has been wildly successful and I personally believe it is because the authors are encouraging, not critical of parenting styles. Bronson and Merryman provide practical advice and share what they have learned based on their experience and studies. Read additional reviews from fellow parents here.
From the publisher:
Po Bronson has built a career both as a successful novelist and as a prominent writer of narrative nonfiction. He has published five books, and he has written for television, magazines, and newspapers, including Time, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and for National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. Currently he is writing regularly for New York magazine in the United States and for The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom.
Po Bronson’s book of social documentary, What Should I Do With My Life?, was a #1 New York Times bestseller and remained in the Top 10 for nine months. He has been on Oprah, on every national morning show, and on the cover of five magazines, including Wired and Fast Company. His first novel, Bombardiers, was a #1 bestseller in the United Kingdom. His books have been translated into 18 languages. Po speaks regularly at colleges and community “town hall” events. He is a founder of The San Francisco Writer’s Grotto, a cooperative workspace for about 40 writers and filmmakers. From 1992 to 2006 he was on the Board of Directors of Consortium Book Sales & Distribution. He lives in San Francisco with his family.
From the author’s website:
NurtureShock, has become one of the most influential books about children ever published. On the New York Times bestseller list for more than six months and an Amazon Top Nonfiction 100 book for over a year, it has been translated in 20 languages.
Ashley M erryman’s mastery of the science is considered so authoritative that her work’s been cited in 185 academic journals and 503 books to date. Among the honors Merryman has received: She’s a Poynter Fellow for Journalism at Yale University and was a William J. Clinton Distinguished Lecturer at the University of Arkansas’s Clinton School of Public Service. She has received nine awards for her work including the PEN Center USA Literary Award; AAAS Award for Science Journalism; an “Audie”; and two Clarions.
Merryman has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University.
An attorney, Merryman previously served as a speechwriter and in other positions in the Clinton Administration. She lives in Los Angeles. In addition to her writing and consulting, she volunteers at a tutoring program for inner-city children, that she founded in 1999.
The Quirky Bookworm 