I feel like most books centered around strained mother-daughter relationships generally focus on some type of abuse, but that’s not *quite* what I’m looking for. I’d prefer something that mirrors my own relationship with my mother which is mostly strained due to her inability to actually be a MOTHER and otherwise responsible adult.
Open to non-fiction, but would prefer fiction or at least a creative non-fiction.
by whomstgoestheir
3 Comments
You might enjoy the very funny but also very sad book about such a relationship [based on the author’s own experiences] – Esther Freud’s Hideous Kinky. The mother in the book is a boho hippy and though she does love her daughter, she has no idea how to be a proper parent.
White Oleander might suffice.
Try The All Girl’s Filling Station’s Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg. The very sweet and nervous main character describes her mother as “the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral, but not actually a mother.” I suspect it will hit some of the right notes for you. There’s also some great stuff about wing walker ladies in pre-WW2 airshows