Through a series of letters from his parents' passionate World War II courtship, Morrison uncovers a startling, touching story. This follow-up to his critically acclaimed 1993 memoir paints the unforgettable picture of a quietly determined heroine and of a son's search to learn the truth about her.

Who was your mother before she was a mother? Essays and photos from Brit Bennett, Jennifer Egan, Danzy Senna, Laura Lippman, Jia Tolentino, and many more. In this remarkable collection, New York Times–bestselling novelist Edan Lepucki gathers more than sixty original essays and favorite photographs to explore this question. The daughters in Mothers Before are writers and poets, artists and teachers, and the images and stories they share reveal the lives of women in ways that are vulnerable and true, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and always moving. Contributors include: Brit Bennett * Jennine Capó Crucet * Jennifer Egan * Angela Garbes * Annabeth Gish * Alison Roman * Lisa See * Danzy Senna * Dana Spiotta * Lan Samantha Chang * Laura Lippman * Jia Tolentino * Tiffany Nguyen * Charmaine Craig * Maya Ramakrishnan * Eirene Donohue * and many others

Im six years old and having a life crisis. Are you my mummy? is the question I could never ask because I love both my mothers equally: Tyna, the tiny one and Bigga, who is bigger. I havent got a daddy either, and it seems rude to ask. This is a sharp and entertaining true story, beginning in war-torn London, of how the author navigated her way through family passions and oddities, secrets and multiple identities. On the way she encounters a Christmas pudding sent annually care of the Bank of Scotland; sitting on a Tutors cat during a Cambridge University interview; running the family corner shop as a school girl; discovering a cache of beautiful postcards from all over Europe; and the seaside wedding of one of her mothers. One of my mothers is has yet another stroke. Im by her side when the consultant points to a scar on her belly and asks her what it is. Silently she raises her hand and gestures towards me. A Caesarean section all those years ago. I am her daughter. We never speak of it. After Bigga and Tyna died, I begin a paper trail to find news of my father. One morning I walk across Westminster Bridge to meet a half-sister. I have been an only child for 50 years. Over lunch I discover that I am the sixth of seven siblings born to four women - and I have a famous Swiss grandfather. The book ends by tackling some questions Im often asked, such as: Were your mothers lesbians? Does a child need a father? Is the past good for you? Do therapists help?

“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.

My name is Sophie. This book is about me. It tells the heart-stoppingly riveting story of my first love. And also of my second. And, okay, my third love, too. It's not that I'm boy crazy. It's just that even though I'm almost fifteen I've been having sort of a hard time trying to figure out the difference between love and lust. It's like my mind and my body and my heart just don't seem to be able to agree on anything.

A funny, fact-driven, and illustrated field guide to how to live a feminist life in today's world, from the hosts of the hit Unladylike podcast. Get ready to get unladylike with this field guide to the what's, why's, and how's of intersectional feminism and practical hell-raising. Through essential, inclusive, and illustrated explorations of what patriarchy looks like in the real world, authors and podcast hosts Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin blend wild histories, astounding stats, social justice principles, and self-help advice to connect where the personal meets political in our bodies, brains, booty calls, bank accounts, and other confounding facets of modern woman-ing and nonbinary-ing. By laying out the uneven terrain of double-standards, head games, and handouts patriarchy has manspread across society for ages, Unladylike is here to unpack our gender baggage and map out the space that's ours to claim.

Is obsessing about food making you miserable and anxious? Are you an emotional eater? A binge eater? Do you have a mental list of 'bad' foods? Have you been on a diet for as long as you can remember? When you lose weight, do you always put it back on? Do you go to bed feeling guilty, promising 'tomorrow will be different'? Are you in control of every part of your life, except food? In just seven chapters of straight-talking, friendly advice, Lyndi Cohen shares the tools to heal your relationship with food and release you from fixating on your size, even if you've been dieting for years. Learn how to listen to your hunger and calm your mind. Lyndi is one of Australia's most popular dietitians, known as The Nude Nutritionist of Channel 9's TODAY show. She started dieting as a young teenager, unhappy with her growing body, and gave up in misery, having steadily gained weight for more than a decade. Almost by accident she become a mindful and intuitive eater, and along the way she gently lost 20kg. With over 50 deliciously realistic recipes (no 'superfoods' required) you'll also be inspired to eat well to boost your mood and balance your hormones. Change starts today.