Mothers Day Books

Book Reviews by Sharon L. Shervington

If healthy mother-child relationships are the foundation of all future emotional ties, it should follow that supportive authenticity on the parent’s part should be universal. Unfortunately, that is not always possible.

DARING GREATLY

But Brenee Brown, the researcher and social worker whose Internet Tedtalks have gone viral, argues in her new book (Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead; Gotham; $26; 287 pp.) that these primal relationships are compromised by shaming, which she describes as a gender-linked issue, leading to many societal ills.

When women step out of their assigned roles, by negotiating for job compensation or being indifferent about looking perfect, they are shamed. But for men the key message is always be strong, never be wrong, and don’t show weakness. For over a decade Brown has been researching how these differences affect our human need for connection. This is a life-changing book, and a perfect gift.

THE LOST DAUGHTER

What could be worse than not having a mother? How about having a mother who was an abusive alcoholic beaten down by racism and sexism? Yet Mary Williams, author of The Lost Daughter (Blue Rider Press; $26.95; 304 pp.) found herself with the ultimate gift, two mothers: Jane Fonda adopted her after Mary attended a camp for several summers that Ms. Fonda ran. Mary’s birth parents were Black Panthers in Oakland, California in the late 1960s and early ’70s, and the first section of the book is about the party’s heyday and ultimate downfall.

Mary was a tomboy, until adolescence, when the men around her began to look at her as sexual prey. During summers at the camp, Mary and Jane had grown close, and after Mary was sexually attacked, Fonda invited her to come and live with her family. Over time she lost touch with her family of origin, but in the end her two mothers meet, and Ms. Williams’s adventurous spirit leads her to her own philanthropy and adventures all over the world.

PAIN, PARTIES, WORK

Literary icon Sylvia Plath was also a mother who dared greatly and then paid the ultimate price, with a fraught marriage to fellow poet Ted Hughes, clinical mental illness, and, finally, suicide. Pain Parties Work: Sylvia Plath in New York Summer 1953 (Elizabeth Winder; Harper; $25.95; 260 pp.) explores in depth her brief stint as a guest editor at Mademoiselle.

Ms. Winder writes, “Sylvia had long been disgusted by the double standard that existed between men and women, and even more disgusted with herself for buying into it.” Plath’s ambivalence toward marriage, like that of many other women, began at home with her mother Aurelia, and father Otto, a much older German autocrat.

This theme is explored more deeply in another book about Plath, whose life work is still obscured by the long shadow of her husband. (Mad Girl’s Love Song, Sylvia Plath and Life before Ted; by Andrew Wilson; Scribner; $30; 368 pp.)

DEFIANT BRIDES

Defiant Brides: the Untold Story of Two Revolutionary-Era Women and the Radical Men They Married is the kind of history that is mostly overlooked. It features Peggy Shippen, the wife of Benedict Arnold (a celebrated war hero before his treason), and wealthy Lucy Flucker, who against her parents’ wishes married a poor Boston bookbinder, Henry Knox, for love in 1774. These women, who defied social mores and sometimes paid a steep price, are worth being remembered both in their public roles and as wives, daughters, and mothers. (Nancy Rubin Stuart; Beacon Press; $26.95; 247 pp.)

THE OFFICE OF MERCY

While today’s world is far more advanced than the 18th century or even the 1950s, it is still a long way from a world without suffering, hunger, or inequality. Such a world is one premise underlying The Office of Mercy (Ariel Djanikian; Viking; $26.95; 304 pp.). The book is set in a futuristic America where underground utopias house the luckiest survivors of a global catastrophe called The Storm while the nomadic remnants on Earth’s surface live lives equivalent to those in the Stone Age. This is a page-turning tale of love, adventure, and ethics in a harrowing, yet plausible, future world.

THE INDIGO SPELL

Richelle Mead, known for her bestselling Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series, is a woman on fire – and about to release the first volume of a series for adults. Meanwhile, Indigo Spell, the third in her YA series Bloodlines (Razorbill; $18.99; 401 pages) is about humans, vampires, and the alchemists who bridge their two worlds.

GAMEBOARD OF THE GODS

And Gameboard of the Gods (Dutton; $26.95; 464 pp.), the first in the Age of X series, offers another original take on a future United States, now the Republic of United North America. Ms. Mead’s work offers a great opportunity for intergenerational book groups and family détente.

ANGELOPOLIS

For mothers who prefer their thrills a little closer to home, at least in time, I recommend Danielle Trussoni’s Angelopolis (Viking Penguin; $27.95; 302 pp.) and her earlier Angelology, now available in paperback (Viking Penguin; $16; 452 pp.). This world is just like ours except that angels, led by the Nephilim, are all around us. In rich, yet spare, prose we learn about the profound influence of the fabulously wealthy great angel families on humanity, among whom they have lived without detection for millennia.

ALEX CROSS RUN

Thriller readers can never go wrong with James Patterson. Currently on the bestseller list is Alex Cross Run, in which Dr. Cross chases a beautiful plastic surgeon who is also a kinky sociopath. (Little, Brown; $28.99; 407 pp.)

Another great choice is 12th of Never, book 12 in the Women’s Murder Club series. The series is about a detective, now a young mother, and her friends: a lawyer, a coroner and a journalist who use each others expertise and mutual devotion to solve crimes. (James Patterson & Maxine Paetro; Little, Brown; $27.99; 394 pp.)

FASHION

The glossy, visual confection of Fashion: the Definitive History of Costume and Style, is a comprehensive history of style from ancient Egypt to the present: a fabulous compilation of paintings, illustrations, photographs, and information about the whys and wherefores of style through the ages. (DK Smithsonian, led by Susan Brown; $50; 480 pp.)

Mothers, and anyone who loves food, would also be delighted with In Season: More than 150 Fresh and Simple Recipes from New York Magazine, Inspired by Farmers Market Ingredients. This is an ideal companion for visits to markets with the freshest offerings. Spring includes recipes for everything from fiddlehead ferns (a hard to find delight that is well worth the effort) to ramps, sorrel, and the humble strawberry. (Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld; blue rider press; $35; 220 pp.)

Whatever your mother’s taste, you can find a Mother’s Day book for her. After all, most people have only one mother, and we are worth it. Happy Mother’s Day.