“You will devour these beautifully written—and very important—tales of honesty, pain, and resilience” (Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and City of Girls) from fifteen brilliant writers who explore how what we don’t talk about with our mothers affects us, for better or for worse. As an undergraduate, Michele Filgate started writing an essay about being abused by her stepfather. It took her more than a decade to realize that she was actually trying to write about how this affected her relationship with her mother. When it was finally published, the essay went viral, shared on social media by Anne Lamott, Rebecca Solnit, and many others. This gave Filgate an idea, and the resulting anthology offers a candid look at our relationships with our mothers. Leslie Jamison writes about trying to discover who her seemingly perfect mother was before ever becoming a mom. In Cathi Hanauer’s hilarious piece, she finally gets a chance to have a conversation with her mother that isn’t interrupted by her domineering (but lovable) father. André Aciman writes about what it was like to have a deaf mother. Melissa Febos uses mythology as a lens to look at her close-knit relationship with her psychotherapist mother. And Julianna Baggott talks about having a mom who tells her everything. As Filgate writes, “Our mothers are our first homes, and that’s why we’re always trying to return to them.” There’s relief in acknowledging how what we couldn’t say for so long is a way to heal our relationships with others and, perhaps most important, with ourselves. Contributions by Cathi Hanauer, Melissa Febos, Alexander Chee, Dylan Landis, Bernice L. McFadden, Julianna Baggott, Lynn Steger Strong, Kiese Laymon, Carmen Maria Machado, André Aciman, Sari Botton, Nayomi Munaweera, Brandon Taylor, and Leslie Jamison.

A musician's life is upturned when a letter arrives at his doorstep. As the story unravels, a whole family shifts its dymanics and drama unsues. Daughters, wives and exwives, and all the women in his life get a say.

My son was born in May 2024, and so was I. I am still being born. You might see this as an autobiography, but it is much rather me having found the courage to be blunt and write about my first months of motherhood as it was, pain, tears (both pronunciations), doubt, too much. And then growth, beauty and strength. Not the angelic figure, much rather the bloody fighter. The minute I became a mum in the eyes of the world, I saw it plain as day. The indisputable myth of the perfect mother is still going strong, isn't it? So, to hell with it. My reason for writing each of the stories is candid and unvarnished honesty. Only that could dispel the image of THE mother that is still so damaging, so dangerous. And imaginary. My stories are written spoken word poetry. Not a contradiction at all. Every line completes the whole and stands on its own, as individual as you are, as connected as all of us. You give it meaning when it resounds in your mind, as it becomes voice again. Your voice.

What is a Sorcerer without his Power source but a regular Person? What is a Prodigy without what made them Special? Onxy, a Person that Fulfills both of those criteria is now on his way to find escape and solution for problems that have haunted him for what he feels like an eternity, to perhaps get his power source back and rid of his rather unconventional work around.

Loathed and Loved. Mother and Daughter. Her childhood is something she wants to leave behind but now that her mother is once again pregnant she has to reflect on how the woman fulfilled that role during her own youth. This is a story about the past, about growing up in a household that holds traditional values very dear: Family Roles, Religion and a Lack of Emotional Intelligence A story about the present, about dealing with Internalized Hate and Contempt towards your own Blood and Flesh. And a story about the future, about your Hopes and Dreams and Desires, not for yourself but for the one after you. Because your story takes place in the past. Something long gone.

This book invites you to join an interpreter's inner journey while she tours in Jerusalem, delving into the depth of the holy city and exploring the truth of one's own value.