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New Novels Look at Mother-Daughter Ties

May is a month when we recognize mothers, and we thought it a good time to introduce several new books that investigate the complexities of being a mother and having one.

My Name is May Sutter by Robin Oliveira (Viking, May 2010, $26.95). This first novel by Seattle-based Robin Oliveira is set in the 1860s and follows a young midwife whose determination to become a surgeon drives her from a comfortable life in New England to the hospitals and battlefields of the Civil War. It explores ambition, love, remorse, and a mother-daughter relationship where expectations become impossible to meet. Not for the fainthearted, it is a captivating read that brings to life what it would be like to want more in a world where the paths for women are very strictly defined.

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin’s Press, February 2010, $25.99). The protagonist in Winter Garden must balance a stale marriage, a demanding job, the loss of a beloved father and a distant and ailing mother. Sound depressing? Don’t worry. Kristin Hannah, a popular Northwest author with a number of successful books to her name, knows how to navigate the emotionally challenging landscapes she creates and leaves her characters, and her readers, hopeful about the future.

The Red Thread by Ann Hood (W. W. Norton & Company, March 2010, $23.95).
Motherhood is the central theme in Ann Hood’s new novel about Maya, the owner of the Red Thread adoption agency who has dedicated her life to finding American homes for infant girls from China. We meet Chinese mothers and learn why they give up their daughters, and we get to know the disappointment and the optimism of the adopting couples. We also watch Maya confront her painful past and open herself up to the redemptive possibilities of parenthood.

Memoirs Find Lessons in Ordinary Life

When Did I Get Like This? The Screamer, The Worrier, The Dinosaur-Chicken-Nugget Buyer & Other Moms I Swore I’d Never Be by Amy Wilson (William Morrow, April 2010, $23.99). This might be considered Operating Instructions for Generation Y. It isn’t as poignant as Anne Lamott’s 1993 classic, but it’s as funny. Amy Wilson, a New York actress turned full-time mom of three, writes with a witty, insightful style about how she abandons her aspirations of perfect parenting and just wants to make it through the day. A quick, enjoyable read, it’ll make you feel better about the places in your life where ideals and reality collide.

Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life by Karen Maezen Miller (New World Library, May 2010, $14.99).
Author and Zen priest Karen Maezen Miller chronicles her journey from unhappiness and heartache to fulfillment in the mundane events of everyday life as mother and wife. Each chapter comes with suggestions on how to find joy in the life we are living instead of longing for the life we think we should have.

A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg (Simon and Shuster Paperbacks, March 2010, $15). If you haven’t yet met Molly Wizenberg on her award-winning blog Orangette (orangette.blogspot.com) or even if you have, this is a book you should own. It’s a delicious tapestry of personal stories and easy-to-tackle recipes that is fortunately now in paperback.

©Copyright 2010, Caliope Publishing Company