10 BEAUTIFUL MOTHERS BOOKS
Beautiful Mothers are our special focus this week. We begin with 10 beautiful books -- memoirs, novels, photo journals, and a gem of a book of quotes, all celebrating Beautiful Mothers.
1. MISAO, THE BIG MAMA AND FUKUMARU THE CAT GOODBYE HELLO
Miyoko Ihara began photographing Misao, her grandmother, together with her feline soulmate and constant companion, Fukumuru, in 2002. She had just graduated from the Nippon Photography Institute.
“Misao, The Big Mama And Fukumaru The Cat Goodbye Hello” is Ihara’s beautiful photo book containing these tender black-and-white images. They are quietly monumental -- capturing the tiny moments of everyday life and the powerful bits of every-human drama as lived in the company of cats.
Little More (2014)
Image: Courtesy of Gallery Books. The Good Son.
2. THE GOOD SON: JFK JR. AND THE MOTHER HE LOVED
I called my son and told him I loved him right in the middle of reading this book. The call and the message were not all that unusual for us. But “The Good Son: JFK Jr. and the Mother He Loved
We know much of their story --- they lived their lives out loud, in full view. But this book dives in a bit deeper, gets significantly closer to the core and spirit of this extraordinary mother and son’s relationship.
Gallery Books (2014)
Image: Courtesy of Harper. What I Had Before I Had You.
3. WHAT I HAD BEFORE I HAD YOU: A NOVEL
“What I Had Before I Had You: A Novel
Full of common parent-child emotions, like guilt and forgiveness, set at the south Jersey shore, the story is unexpectedly magical.
“[A] bewitching first novel. . . . In chapters alternating between the puzzling, pressurized present and eerily predictive past, Cornwell weaves the novel’s double narrative with the deft touch of a magician and the sure hand of a confident writer to watch.”
— Elle
“Captivating. . . . Depth of insight, dreamy prose, and an engrossing storyline mark this wonderful debut.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The subtler workings of past trauma on present-day lives underscore Sarah Cornwell’s psychological page-turner.”
— Vogue.com
Harper (2014)
Image: Courtesy of Putnam Adult. My Mother’s Secret.
4. MY MOTHER’S SECRET: A NOVEL BASED ON A TRUE HOLOCAUST STORY
If you had the opportunity to make a difference in the face of flagrant evil and certain peril, would you be able to do so?
“My Mother's Secret: A Novel Based on a True Holocaust Story
As the persecution and deportation of Poland’s Jews begins, Franciszka risks everything to hide an entire Jewish family in her basement, while at the same time, hiding a defecting German soldier in her attic.
Told from multiple perspectives and brimming with intimate detail, the compassion and fortitude of the mother in this book continues to uplift long after the back cover has been reached.
Putnam Adult (2013)
Image: Courtesy of Joggling Board Press. The Other Mother.
5. THE OTHER MOTHER: A REMEMOIR
“The Other Mother: A Rememoir
Beautifully written, richly painted, the narrative lifts you like an autumn leaf and spirits you along through rainbows of emotion.
“Mark my words, Teresa Bruce will be one of the next great American authors.”
— Pat Conroy, Prince of Tides
“Simple but keenly observant. Welled my eyes with tears."
— Elle McGee, Charleston Magazine
Joggling Board Press (2013)
Image: Courtesy of Simon & Schuster. Mom in the Movies.
6. MOM IN THE MOVIES: THE ICONIC SCREEN MOTHERS YOU LOVE (AND A FEW YOU LOVE TO HATE)
“Mom in the Movies: The Iconic Screen Mothers You Love (and a Few You Love to Hate)
Along the mom spectrum, we check in Mommie Dearest, Aliens, Gypsy, Edward Scissorhands, Auntie Mame, The Manchurian Candidate, and The Blind Side moms for all kinds of mama drama.
The foreword is written by Debbie Reynolds and her daughter Carrie Fisher, with sidebar essays by Eva Marie Saint, Illeana Douglas, Jane Powell, Sam Robards, and Tippi Hedren.
Simon & Schuster (2014)
Image: Courtesy of Random House Reference. Mom Candy.
7. MOM CANDY: 1,000 QUOTES OF INSPIRATION FOR MOTHERS
Sweet thoughts about the incredible experience of being a mother abound in “Mom Candy: 1,000 Quotes of Inspiration for Mothers
This is a beautiful book to behold. Printed on heavy paper, with two silk place-holder ribbons stitched into the binding. It contains reflections Hillary Clinton, Madeleine L'Engle, Michelle Obama, Kate Winslet, Reese Witherspoon, Erica Jong, Jodi Picoult, and many, many others.
One of our favorites:
“Being a mom has made me so tired. And so happy.”
— Tina Fey
Random House Reference (2013)
Image: Courtesy of Random House. Mom & Me & Mom.
8. MOM & ME & MOM
“Mom & Me & Mom
The feelings of abandonment that Angelou suffered growing up as a motherless child, stayed with her for years. Mother and daughter reunited 10 years later, but their reconnecting and reconciling took many years after that.
“Mom & Me & Mom” is delivered with Angelou’s trademark good humor and fierce optimism. If any resentments linger between these lines, if lives are partially revealed without all the bitter details exposed, well, that is part of Angelou’s forgiving design. As an account of reconciliation, this little book is just revealing enough, and pretty irresistible.”
— The Washington Post
“Moving . . . a remarkable portrait of two courageous souls.”
— People
“Mesmerizing . . . Angelou has a way with words that can still dazzle us, and with her mother as a subject, Angelou has a near-perfect muse and mystery woman.”
— Essence
Random House (2013)
Image: Courtesy of Prestel. Mother.
9. MOTHER
One of the most beautiful photography books we’ve seen this year is “Mother
Carucci’s newest monograph, is an autobiographical photo essay, documenting her own journey as a mother, from pregnancy through the first 9 years of her twins’ lives. This isn’t a sappy sweet Mother’s Day gift book, rather it is a bracingly true and direct view of the complex relationships between mother and child, and within their whole family unit.
The gorgeous light and shadow play captures the powerful emotion of even the most mundane.
Mother was on the New York Times list of 10 Best Photo Books of the Year, and on the Los
Angeles Times Photo Book Roundup of the 5 Best Photography Books of 2013.
See more of Carucci’s incredible photos in Mother’s Keeper.
Elinor Carucci's photographs have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, W, Aperture and ARTnews, among other publications. The recipient of an ICP Infinity Award for Young Photographers and a Guggenheim fellowship, Carucci has published two other books: Closer and Diary of a Dancer. She teaches in the graduate program at the School of Visual Arts, New York.
Prestel (2013)
Image: Courtesy of Melville House. The Old World Kitchen.
10. THE OLD WORLD KITCHEN: THE RICH TRADITION OF EUROPEAN PEASANT COOKING
If you crave some just-like-mama-used-to-make comfort food, “The Old World Kitchen: The Rich Tradition of European Peasant Cooking
Whether your mother comes from France, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, England, Lapland, Greece …. or if you want to adopt a motherland for culinary purposes, you’ll find 300 warm and wise recipes from 25 old-world countries, which Luard collected over the course of more than 25 years of travel.
"Through her eloquent writing and delicious recipes, Elizabeth Luard is able to bring us back in touch with the sources of real nourishment. This is a wonderful, inspiring and important book."
— Alice Waters, founder and owner of Chez Panisse, author of The Art of Simple Food
"The best at describing 'the cuisine of the necessary' in European peasant life. Filled with ... gems."
— Mark Bittman, author of How to Cook Everything
"One of the great cook books of all time."
—The Mail on Sunday
Melville House (2013)
Read more about Beautiful Mother, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact,
Enter this week’s BN Creative Photo Competition. Our theme this week is Beautiful Mothers. Deadline is 05.04.14.
