This browser does not support the Video element.
Having trouble deciding what to get mom for her special day? Podcast host Zibby Owens has you covered with her definitive list of the best book to get each mother in your life from the mom who needs a drink to the mom who loves to cook and more!
For the mom who lost her mom:
- The Aftergrief by Hope Edelman
- The Empathy Diaries by Sherry Turkle
For the mom who worries she’s losing her mind:
- Mom Genes by Abigail Tucker
For the mom debating having a second child:
- Second Thoughts by Lynn Berger
For the mom who needs a drink:
- Three Martini Afternoons at the Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath & Anne Sexton by Gail Crowther
For the mother of a certain age:
- Great Sex Starts at 50 by Tracey Cox
For the mom considering an affair:
- Blow Your House Down by Gina Frangello
For the mom who needs a laugh:
- Did I Say That Out Loud: Midlife Indignities and How to Survive Them by Kristin van Ogtrop
For the mom who is burnt out:
- I’m So Effing Tired: A Proven Plan to Beat Burnout, Boost Your Energy, and Reclaim Your Life by Amy Shah, MD
For the mom longing for an escapist read:
- When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain
For the mom who can’t stop second-guessing herself:
- The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano by Donna Freitas
For the history-buff mom who needs inspiration:
- The Light of Days: The Untold Story of the Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos by Judy Batalion
For the mom who can’t bear the thought of another load of laundry:
- Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore by Karin B. Miller and Patric Richardson
For the mom who can’t fit everything in:
- Moms Don’t Have Time To: A Quarantine Anthology
For the mom who needs some life hacks:
- Your Time to Thrive by Arianna Huffington and Marina Khidekel
For the mom who is battling depression:
- Lifelines by Melissa Bernstein
For the mom who loves to cook:
- Simply Julia by Julie Turshen
- The Loaves & Fishes Farm Series by Sybille van Kemp
- Mango & Peppercorns by Tung Nguyen, Lyn Nguyen and Katherine Manning
For the mom who loves music:
- The Spirit of Music by Victor Wooten
The mom reeling from a setback:
- The Rejection that Changed My Life by Jessica Bacal
For the grandma:
- Nanaville: Adventures in Grandparenting by Anna Quindlen
For the mom looking for hands-on parenting tools:
- The Scaffold Effect by Dr. Harold Koplewicz
For the mom who wants to get into it:
- Let’s Talk About Hard Things by Anna Sale
For the mom who loves fiction:
- Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
For the mom missing her girlfriends:
- Huddle by Brooke Baldwin
For the mom who wonders how everyone else is doing it:
- Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michaeleen Doucleff
For the mom who wants to regroup:
- Broken (in the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson
For the home office mom:
- Parenting While Working from Home by Shari Medini
For more on Zibby Owens and her podcast "Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books," click here.