Mommy Dearest

There is no one correct way to be a mother. However, mothers are frequently portrayed as perfectly kept superheroes who never miss a playdate or forget to pack a lunch. The media often encourage the idea that moms happily give up careers and hobbies to nurture, provide and unconditionally love their children without any regret.

Whether you're a mom or not, check out these mom-lit selections that break common stereotypes and show that motherhood is not a "one size fits all" experience.

In the throes of post-partem depression, Claire takes an extended unplanned stay away from her newborn and husband in I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness. Her respite from maternal life includes experimentation and reflection on her familial history through the discovery of letters sent between her mother and cousin.

Nightbitch is about an artist who gave it all up to be a stay-at-home mom and begins to rely on an unorthodox method of childrearing as her obsession with canine tendencies takes over her conscious thoughts.

Enticed by the American dream, Patsy leaves her child behind in Jamaica to join her former lover and live out her youth. Her decisions are challenged when she takes a nannying job while her child lives motherless in Jamaica.

The School for Good Mothers is a futuristic story where women who are deemed "unfit mothers" are sent to a rehabilitation center to prove they can care for their children.

Wayward follows Samantha as she moves out of her marital home and into an idealized bungalow to reckon with her mother's illness, her teen daughter's behavior and the frustrations of the 2016 election.

A Best of the Best selection from this past year, Detransition, Baby delves into the desire and obtainment of motherhood while reflecting on the role pregnancy plays in gender expression.

Sammie and Monika are two very different mothers parenting their unruly young son in the novel With Teeth. Will their desire to be the perfect, queer family resolve the desire that both mothers thought having a child would bring?