The world is filled with great books, and it would take several lifetimes to read them all. Instead of dealing with the anxiety that comes with not having enough time to read them all, you could choose a small list that you can handle and start working your way through in your spare time. Moms hardly ever get some time to themselves since everyone in the family looks up to them, so winding down the day with a good book is some form of self-care.
Here are five great books for some quality mom reading:
Between the World and Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates
Ta-Nehisi Coates has an adolescent who needs to know about his roots, his place in modern America, and the histories of people of color that he will need to navigate the future. As a popular book, especially in the age of awakening, you will find well-written “Between the World and Me” essays that break it down into smaller bits to capture the writing as clearly as possible. This personal narrative, also a walk back memory lane, takes the reader into the streets of Chicago, Paris, and some other parts of the world where the author has been and his intimate interactions with the people in these spaces. Check out the free writing samples online to better understand the author’s experiences.
What makes it one of the ideal books for moms are the lessons herein that are so beautifully woven to teach a child of color what they should expect from the world they are about to enter. One of the excerpts from this book that tries to break it all down is: “This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.”
Educated – Tara Westover
Tara Westover is seventeen with no formal education because her parents are survivalists living in the hills of Idaho. Each year, she stocks piles of food that her community will survive on when the world finally ends, but that never happens. Her salvaging escapades are not enough for a girl who believes she is destined for the best, so she finally educates herself to make it to college at Brigham Young University. In the midst of other students, Westover, who had never seen the inside of a hospital before, studies history and other things that open up the world for her. Hers is a story of a young unprivileged lady that dared to dream, and so she became.
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America – Ibram X. Kendi
In his book, Kendi looks into the lives of pro-slavery and pro-civil rights thinkers and explains why they either advanced the issue of race in America or contributed to its abolition. It is filled with facts and historical events that will have you digging deeper into your knowledge of history. As a mom, you could also learn some things that you could put down through essay writing to teach kids about their heritage.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind – Yuval Noah Harari
Dr. Harari shows us in his book that there is nothing new under the sun. He goes back into the past where our great ancestors walked the earth and some of their breakthroughs. He touches on the Cognitive, Agricultural and Scientific Revolutions and their effects on the universe, parts of which you may find devastating. It stands out as one of the good books for moms for the facts it presents, the teachings, and the way the author reminds us to show each other some compassion.
When Breath Becomes Air – Paul Kalanithi
This one’s a tearjerker, but the lessons are worth it. It is ideal for moms, young adults on campus, and basically anyone that needs to be reminded to seize every day. A young neurosurgeon has terminal cancer, and he attempts to find out the true meaning of life in the little time he has left. What makes the story sadder is that the author becomes a parent just as his life is fading away. An excerpt that captures the book almost perfectly: “I began to realize that coming face to face with my own mortality, in a sense, had changed nothing and everything.” Read it and see if you are not inspired to do the best in the time you have left.
You may have studied similar books in class before you became a mother, so some of these options would feel like a walk down memory lane. You deserve to treat your mind to good reads that help you improve the course of motherhood and make you feel better about yourself.
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