12 Novels About the Parenting Experience

Where We Belong, by Emily Giffin
No one tackles motherhood like Emily Giffin. In Where We Belong, a mother’s identity has been hidden for years until an 18 year old shows up on her doorstep. It sounds pretty simple, but the complexities of the parent-child relationships between the different characters will leave your heart aching, as will the tender moments between a father who wants to keep his daughter happy, and a mother who wants to protect her. Parenthood is messy and complicated, and Where We Belong illustrates that beautifully.

Little Earthquakes, by Jennifer Weiner
Being a parent is hard enough, but when life gets in the way, it can make raising children seem nearly impossible. In Little Earthquakes, you’ll meet three women with wildly different lives, but at the core, they all want the same thing—to be good mothers. There is joy in motherhood, but there is also tragedy, fear, worry, and vulnerability.

Room, by Emma Donoghue
Room is the heartbreaking story of a woman who is being held captive and raising her son in the one room their abductor has given them. But, it’s also an incredibly authentic look at what it means to be a mother—you’ll do anything to give your child the life they deserve, despite the circumstances surrounding the two of you. It’s a story that proves how the fierce love a mother has for her child can carry both of them through anything.

The Girl in the Red Coat, by Kate Hamer
If there’s one feeling that’s consistent among all parents, is it is their fear that they are going to lose their child. In The Girl in the Red Coat, this nightmare becomes a reality for a single mother who will stop at nothing to find her daughter.

House Rules, by Jodi Picoult
When a murder rocks a small town, one boy has some behaviors that make him seem like he was involved. But Jacob is just a boy with Asperger’s syndrome and an interest in forensic analysis. House Rules is a novel that will stay with you long after you read it, questioning along with Jacob’s family whether he’s as innocent as his mother thinks he is, or if there’s more to her child than she thought.

I Don’t Know How She Does It, by Allison Pearson
It’s muttered a thousand times a day by those around you, but I Don’t Know How She Does It is more than just a catchphrase. Motherhood is messy and finding the balance between work, self-care, relationships, and being a parent can be more than just complicated—sometimes it seems impossible.

Eleven Hours, by Pamela Erens
Want an authentic look at a labor story? You want Eleven Hours. Not only does it cover the fear and anxieties of birth, but it also tackles what it means to enter into motherhood when you are terrified, nervous, and all alone. The friendship between two mothers-to-be will also leave you feeling emotional about your journey as a parent and grateful for the village you are working hard to create.

Momzillas, by Jill Kargman
Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise—the mommy wars are very real. In Momzillas, you can laugh your way through the story of a new mom moving into an elite Manhattan neighborhood and the struggles she faces trying to fit in with the crowd that believes in expensive baby clothes and applying for pre-schools before you’re pregnant. Everyone knows comparison is just a trap, but this fun book will let you laugh at the pressures moms face when it comes to fitting in and doing everything the “right” way.

All She Ever Wanted, by Rosalind Noonan
Regardless of how much you love your child, sometimes being a mother isn’t what you thought it would be. In All She Ever Wanted, Chelsea has been dreaming about having a baby, but when her daughter arrives, she realizes that sleep deprivation, isolation, and her baby’s cries are pushing her over the edge. It is a brutally honest look at postpartum depression and the guilt so many mothers feel as they suffer from it. By the end you will want to hug Chelsea (and yourself).

The Crooked Branch, by Jeanine Cummins
It’s amazing how much of your identity is wrapped up in your family, and how as a result, the birth of your child can make you want to discover every inch of your genealogy. That’s exactly what happens in The Crooked Branch, when the birth of her daughter makes new mother Majella slowly begin to unravel her family’s history, finding her identity mixed in the middle of everything.

Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng
It’s a heartbreaking story, but Everything I Never Told You seamlessly explores the relationships between parents and children, the balancing act of keeping a family together, and how desperately everyone wants to understand each other. It will make you cry, and you will also hug your children a little tighter, because parenthood is funny that way.

The Light Between Oceans, by M.L. Stedman
For another good, solid cry, read The Light Between Oceans. The story of two mothers, one adopting a baby lost at sea and the other mourning that same baby everyone presumes to be dead, will haunt you and leave you feeling completely enamored with motherhood and all it entails. It is a story of love, of the magic of children, and the bond between a mother and daughter. You will volley between the two characters, unsure of which one is more deserving, while also appreciating the authenticity of every motherhood moment.