Best book about motherhood?

Agree soldier sailor is absolutely incredible. Loving these recommendations. 'Don't forget to scream (unspoken truths about motherhood)' by marianne Levy was another favourite of mine. Also 'after the storm' by Emma Jane unsworth

I Don’t Know How She Does It by Alison Pearson is funny and insightful too.

The Happy Housewife by Helen Van Royen (sp?) was a Dutch bestseller and the subjects tackled in it are tough ones but it does have a happy ending.

This is the drawback of audio isn’t it? If the narrator isn’t right it really puts you off. I haven’t listened to the audio of Night Waking but I did really love the book.

I listened to Summerwater by Sarah Moss on audible and really enjoyed it. So I downloaded Night Waking as recommended on here. But I'm finding the narrator a bit irritating; not the same as Summerwater narrator sadly. Is it worth pursuing still? I'm debating returning it and exchanging it for another of hers.

We need to talk about Kevin.

The Millstone is excellent. Rosamund seems so weak and pliant, yet she discovers that she is also strong, fierce and independent.

Another book about motherhood that I love is Frangipani, by Célestine Hitiura Vaite, a Tahitian novelist.

Was coming on to recommend this - I found it absolutely wonderful

also
What to Expect When You Are Breastfeeding and What if you Can’t? By Clare Byam-Cook helped me through some very trying times and EBF both my children to age 2.

'What mothers do- especially when it looks like nothing'Really helped me through the early days of motherhood

Two Thousand Kisses a Day: Gentle Parenting Through the Ages and Stages
L.R. Knost

I haven't read it yet but it's been recommended to me (and not just for parents):
Mandy Saligari
Proactive Parenting: Help your child conquer self-destructive behaviours and build self-esteem

I also rate Life After Birth by Kate Figes. In fact any of her books.

I loved night waking too. It’s very dark but I loved Room by Emma Donoughue. It captures the intensity of the relationship between mother and child.

In term of non fiction my wild and sleepless nights by Clover Stroud is a lovely book. She has 5 children and writes about her experience of motherhood. She was very close to her own mother who suffered a severe brain injury when Clover was 15.

Another non fiction one is what have I done by Laura Dockerill which is about her experience of postnatal psychosis.

Non-fiction but Three Shoes, One Sock and No Hairbrush: Everything You Need to Know About Having Your Second Child by Rebecca Abrams - a bit old now but helped me a lot when I had small dc

Thanks for recommending the books on this thread, I'll look into them.

On a less positive note, many years ago when pregnant with my first child I read The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing and found it quite distressing and alarming. It's a brilliant book, but definitely made me wonder what I'd let myself in for!

I loved Night Waking.

Also The Hand that First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell and recently A Ghost in the Throat. Will be checking out the others on the thread

www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jan/13/salt-on-tongue-women-and-sea-charlotte-runcie-review

This was read on R4 and I ended up buying it when I was pregnant

I love The Good Mother by Sinead Moriarty, agree its a real tear jerker though. Will be looking up some of these other ones.

I saw the title and was immediately going to recommend Soldier Sailor but see many of you have got there before me. I first became a mum 23 years ago and have read other books that captured aspects of the experience but Soldier Sailor just blows them out of the water.

Not fiction but an eye-opener is The Invisible Job https://www.theinvisiblejob.com/ Nothing comes close in documenting the practical demands of being a parent.

Ouch, I remember "We Need to Talk About Kevin". Really compelling read but a bit gut-wrenching.

I loved Jennifer Weiner's "Little Earthquakes". She's an American author & has written a few books in this sort-of vein. This one also has a tragic bent to it, but somehow wasn't a depressing read, if that makes sense.

There's an Irish author called Sinead Moriarty whose books I've devoured- but watch out for "The Good Mother". She's usually quite hilarious, whilst touching on hard topics (a little like Marian Keyes in that sense) but TGM made me sob so loudly the neighbours heard me.

Ann Enright also wrote a memoir on early motherhood, more upbeat than Rachel Cusk's. Think its called Making Babies.

I came on to add this one, and for the same reason. As @HiCandles says Why Love Matters is also superb. I'm adding "The Battle for Christabel" by Margaret Forster. Probably a bit dated now (published in the late 1980's) and is about a woman's decision whether or not to adopt the child of her friend who has died in an accident.

Interestingly I had the opposite with Kevin. I was very unsympathetic to Eva the first time I read it and then, some three years later re read and felt if anyone was at fault it was Franklin.

I actually think it's a brilliant book about motherhood!

I first read it before I had a child. All of my sympathy was with the mother. Then I read it when DS was about five. I almost couldn't believe it was the same book and that I could have had the opinion of it that I'd had the first time. My perspective was so so different reading it as a mother and there were so many passages and nuances that I has missed or glossed over the first time.

I read wife wirk when pregnant with my first. I found it very impactful.

Does 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' count?