Motherless Mothers: How Losing a Mother Shapes the Parent You Become Paperback – May 8, 2007

Bought this for Christmas for 2 close friend's daughters who lost their mom about a yr & a half ago. I happened across the book many years (& editions) ago after losing my mom and found it to be so helpful. My best friend read it after I was finishes & said it helped her understand my thoughts & feelings so much more--things I thought & felt but couldn't but into the right words for her to grasp. I would highly recommend this book to anyone from teens to seniors who have lost their mother.

Understanding that you are not alone, and your fears and anxieties are totally normal (even if they aren't shared by other mothers you know personally) can make all the difference in the world. I only wish I'd come across this book while I was still pregnant. I'm certain it would have made my post partum experience less traumatic. But, better late than never and I am so grateful to Hope Edelman for sharing her life and work with us. It's taken me a long time to finish because the emotions it triggers are so raw, but it has been an incredibly healing experience. I can already see that I'm going to refer back to it many times over the years to come.

Not everyone was blessed with growing up with mother, but they are blessed with their ownbeautiful family to raise and they face a challenge sometimes and they don't have role modelto turn to.This book is full of strength and power info and wisdom.I bought it for a gift for someone who needed some lift of the spirits andthe book was extremely helpful.

I ordered this book used but it is in excellent condition! It’s very big eye opener and has a lot of different points that I’ve never even thought about! So excited I chose to get it!!

Lost my mother to breast cancer and two years later I found myself pregnant with my first baby - due soon. I've been in therapy for grief and depression since mom died, and although my therapist gives me great advice, there is no way she (or anyone else in my life) understands the emotions I've been going through. I felt like I had someone right with me that completely understood every feeling I had, and even pointed out some that I couldn't put into words. Some parts hit home so much that I do end up putting it down for a while and process what Hope Edelman is saying. If I could, I would personally thank her for writing this book, sharing her story and the stories of the other women. Its been my absolute life saver - without it, I don't know how I would be coping at this point. I told my therapist to recommend this book to others finding themselves in the same situation. I am glad that I didn't start reading this book until I actually was pregnant. I think it made a bigger impact now than if I had read it before pregnancy. Unfortunately I know a few other women that I will pass it on to once they become pregnant.

Interesting book that is helping me to better understand myself after the loss of my mother.

Such a stellar book for us mothers without mothers. Many of the things I knew intuitively but gave me deeper understanding into why I parent like I parent and lots of food for thought on the intricacies of parenting while healing and forgiving ourselves. I wish I had found this book when my kids were younger but has still given me a lot of healing insight to why I am the way I am.

Just a bit slow.

My mother died when I was 2 years ago, my sister was 6. My father remarried when I was 10, so I had a mother as a teenager but not as a young child. I was brought up by my grandmother till my father remarried. So when I had a child I did not have much of an example of parenting to guide me. This book uses a huge range of women in my and similar situations and explains a lot about what difference it might make to me as a parent.I recommend this book most highly to any mother whose mother died before they were an adult. It is especially helpful to new mothers I think. It gives me a lot of background and it has a good bibliography and references too.

I bought this book to help me with the healing process after the death of my mother 40 years ago. I couldn't understand why I still after all this time had an empty hole inside me. After reading this book I felt comforted because I could relate to other women in the same situation and I realised that you never really get over the loss of your mother but there are ways to live a fruitful life

I gave this book to my step daughter who has a seven month old son. She found it very relatable and it helped to not feel alone in her experience.

As a bereavement support worker I searched for a book on this subject and was blessed to find this one. This is a complicated area of bereavement which can result in a new Mum being completely overwhelmed by grief many years after her own mother's death, a difficult concept for family and friends to understand. The isolation, fear, self doubt and resurgence of grief experienced can be devastating at a time which should be a sublimely happy one for her. In my experience this grief can be misdiagnosed as post natal depression resulting in antidepressants being prescribed. For anyone knowing a mum to be or a new mum who lost her maternal guide through bereavement please do read this book, knowing how to support and reassure her will be the greatest gift you could give.

Healing!!!!!