(posted originally on booksuggestions a while ago)
i would like to read about women experiences of motherhood, *where the woman end and where the mother begin and the likes.*
**suggest me nonfiction or fiction that falls under:** realistic fiction (or literary fiction), drama, psychological, character study.
**Note**: would be grateful if you recommend books about **marginalized women**: ***women of color, indigenous women, black women, queer, disable…etc***
**what i want to read about:**
1. **the mother is the main character,** the reader follow her perspective. her dreams and reality, her frustrations and sacrifices. focus on her psychology and mental wellbeing.
2. ***disillusioned look into motherhood,*** looking at mothers as a human of multitudes and roles, with all faults, pressures. the focus on her relationships \[partner, child, family, friends, community\],
3. **representation of women/ mothers under poverty, homelessness, addiction…etc**
4. **exploration of a mother’s disability and illness, mental and/or physical.**
**don’t recommend me domestic thrillers/ suspense/ mystery please. i don’t care about that.**
**thank you <3**
by collateralfears
10 Comments
I wanna stick around and see what people suggest
graveyard of lost children by katrina monroe has some horrorish elements, but it’s more of a look at postpartum depression/psychosis and the struggles of being a mother
With Teeth by Kristin Arnett.
Spilt Milk by Amy Beschel is a novel that covers a lot of what you are looking for. It’s a middle class white English woman who lives in England though.
Dele weds Destiny by Tomi Obaro I think also covers what you are after. It’s about three women from Nigeria who go to college together and how their friendship changes and survives with family.
Nightbitch aligns with some of what you’re looking for
The Golden State: A Novel by Lydia Kiesling, and like someone else mentioned Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder. Also the ladder half of the Neapolitan novels by Eleana Ferante speak to motherhood in this way.
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Nearly anything by Yūko Tsushima
Boulder by Eva Baltasar
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan! Seriously this book checks off ALL of your boxes!
1. Main character Frida is Chinese-American. The book is told from her perspective and there is definitely a focus on her mental health.
2. This book has many moments of disillusionment with motherhood specifically. It also touches on surveillance culture and the idea of “perfection” in being a mother.
3. Frida attends a “school” (hence the title) that features women from a variety of backgrounds.
I’ve read this book twice and it is one of those reads that just does not leave you. It is well written and very compelling, but there were also several moments where I just felt frustration and anguish for the mothers in this book. Five stars, 10/10, will always recommend.