Below is a list of five mom must-reads for those looking for new reading materials this fall. This blog has shared some book reviews in the past, so I wanted to share some of my own. These are stories of parents who work hard taking care of their families while trying to maintain their own identities.
Househusband by Ad Hudler
Househusband by Ad Hudler is almost 20 years old but I love re-reading it. It’s the story of a man named Linc whose wife takes a high powered, 80-hour-per week job across the country. He sells his Southern California landscaping business to help his wife and their three-year-old daughter move to upstate New York. They move into an upscale neighborhood where the housewives shun him. He finds staying home with his daughter to be very lonely and isolating. But he rises up to the challenge and figures things out. The book compares the roles of stay-at-home parents compared to the breadwinners and how society views them. The author wrote from his personal experience while staying home with his kids and writing in his spare time.
The Husbands by Chandler Baker
The Husbands by Chandler Baker is the story of Nora, a young mother balancing her career as a lawyer with her family life. She has a supportive (but not intuitive husband), a four-year-old, and a baby on the way. When they start to look at a new house for their growing family, her and her husband consider purchasing a house in a new development where all the wives are successful in their careers, and the husbands are devoted caretakers. While this seems like a dream come true for Nora, she finds that there is a lot more to these women and their devoted husbands.
The Summer Seekers by Sarah Morgan
Yes this is a summer book, but technically it’s still summer. The Summer Seekers is a story about adventures. Kathleen, an 80-year-old British woman, decides to hire a chauffeur to drive her across Route 66 in the United States. Her middle-aged daughter Liza is worried about Kathleen’s big trip, but busy with her own life with her two teenage daughters. However she comes to realize that taking a journey like her mother might just be what she needs. Stressed out, she leaves London to stay by herself in her mother’s seaside home. Both the mother and daughter learn a lot about each other and themselves.
Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner
Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner was also written around 20 years ago. It’s story about a mother of three young children whose husband is never home. Stuck in suburban Connecticut away friends and family in New York City, Kate has nothing in common with the other moms in her small town leaving her feeling isolated and alone. When she finds one of the women in her neighborhood was murdered, she decides to solve the murder herself. This was before true crime podcasts, CSI, and the Internet as we know it today. She has to do some old-fashioned digging, which also involves digging into her past.
Momfluenced by Sara Petersen
In Momflenced, local author Sara Petersen divides into the good, the bad, and the ugly of social media and what that means for mothers. As mothers, we constantly compare ourselves and the Internet magnifies that. Influencers and corporate sponsors are cashing in on the daily lives of mothers and how we eat, dress, decorate, shop, bathe, etc. Petersen shows how social media can bring together many extremist groups, which can be dangerous. However she talks about how social media can bring together many marginalized groups who otherwise would be more isolated. Social media can also bring together moms who are fighting for equal rights and better futures for themselves and their children. This powerful tool is a double edged sword.
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