Books that explore mother-child relationships and the power of a mother’s love

by Leah St. James
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5 books
I love getting sucked into a good, emotional story, one that drags me from laughter to tears and everything in between. For me, one of the most emotional themes is that of the mother-child relationship, and I’m always intrigued by how individual authors convey this special bond.
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Love on a Half Shell

Elvy Howard, 2013
Rae Green’s world changes overnight when her sister’s daughters are dropped into her lap, almost literally, one stormy evening. At 12 and 5 years of age, her nieces have already seen more troubles in their young lives than some do in decades, and Rae is determined to give them the stability and love they desperately need. But instant motherhood isn’t for sissies, and soon the three are doubting they’ll ever be able to form a family. Just when she’s ready to give up, Rae meets friends, old and new, who offer invaluable mothering advice, companionship, and maybe even romance. I love this author’s voice and its almost audible soft Southern accent.

The Hummingbird's Cage

Tamara Dietrich, 2015
Often I’m drawn to books in the romance genre and their happy-ever-after endings, so I wasn’t sure about delving into this story of domestic abuse. But Dietrich’s stellar story-telling quickly overcame my hesitation, and I was immediately drawn into protagonist Joanna’s fight to free herself, and her young daughter, from a traumatic home life with a brutal husband/father. Soon the two settle into a small town in New Mexico where they begin to heal and discover their true selves. A surprise/mystical ending should satisfy my fellow romance lovers’ need to know the characters would be okay after the final page is turned.

Leaving Time

Jodi Picoult, 2015
Jodi Picoult is one of my all-time favorite authors for bringing a slew of emotions to the surface…for better or worse. “Leaving Time” tells the story of a young teen’s search for her scientist/researcher mother, presumed missing or dead for the last ten years following an accident at an elephant sanctuary run by the girl’s parents. Jumping back and forth in time, Picoult weaves the girl’s quest with her mother’s fascinating research on elephants so strategically and lightly that you don’t realize what she’s done until the end. Masterful story-telling.

The Hint of Light

A Novel
Kristin Kisska, 2023
Kisska’s debut novel tackles the loss of an adult son suffering from alcohol addiction, told from the perspective of the mother, the son, and his newly discovered teenaged daughter. It explores the complex and unique emotions of each of the point-of-view characters—the son who struggles to make his life work, the mother who is forced to watch her son’s self-destruction (every mother’s fear), and the daughter who mourns the loss of a relationship too soon. There is a surprise ending that perfectly brings the story full circle.

Sweet Expectations

Mary Ellen Taylor, 2013
Sweet Expectation, the second in Taylor’s Union Street Bakery series, is the story of  a woman’s struggle with an unexpected pregnancy and its impact on her life. The fact that Daisy is unmarried, and wants no relationship with the baby’s father, are minor speedbumps in her journey. More troubling are her fears and doubts of her ability to properly mother a child, given that her own mother abandoned her at age three. Smoothing her way, however, is a mystery—the discovery of a box of recipes, written by an unwed mother from the World War II era, and the family she left behind. I loved how Taylor wove together the problems both women faced, despite the decades between them, and how she resolved both storylines.