Listen. Your mom gave birth to you, and you’ve been incredibly ungrateful ever since. Remember when you sneaked out in high school and thought she didn’t know? Remember when she told you that you looked fine even though you had blindingly-bright silver braces and acne? And then remember when you went to college and cried like a baby on the phone when your slutty dorm mate stole your boyfriend? She loved and reassured you during your darkest hours, so the least you can do is buy her a book for Mother’s Day. Here are a few suggestions.
FOR MOTHERS WHO ARE A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY, A LITTLE BIT ROCK N’ ROLL
Never a Pal Like Mother: Vintage Songs & Photographs of the One Who’s Always True
This 96-page hardback book with a forward by Rosanne Cash and an essay by noted collector Sarah Bryan also includes 65 antique photographs along with two CDs featuring 40 vintage recordings from 1927 to 1956. Cash writes, “The songs in this collection wail, grieve, rock, celebrate, and worship Mother, and occasionally acknowledge her failings. As a whole, this music paints a rich and compelling portrait of a time that no longer exists.”
FOR MOTHERS WHO LOVE COMEDY
Bossypants by Tina Fey
As we mentioned in our previous post, Fey writes about her rise from an improv underling to the executive producer of 30 Rock in her memoir, while bringing some levity to perennial issues like sexism, working motherhood, and being a woman in power. Popeater has included some excerpts from the book in “5 Things We Learned Reading Tina Fey’s Bossypants here. I’m sure your comedy-loving mother will thank you for this hilarious read.
FOR VAIN MOTHERS CONCERNED ABOUT AGING
I Remember Nothing or I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron writes, “When you’re young, you make jokes about how things slip your mind. You think it’s amusing that you’ve wandered into the kitchen and can’t remember why. Or that you carefully made a shopping list and left it home on the counter. Or that you managed to forget the plot of a movie you saw only last week. And then you get older.”
Your mom probably already loves Ephron for her humor, but her candor about aging will assuage many of your mom’s fears while replacing them with other, more pressing indignities. So it goes.
FOR SOAP OPERA-LOVING MOMS
All My Life by Susan Lucci
If your mom is either from Long Island or a gay man, she’ll love Susan Lucci’s new memoir about life as Erica Cane on All My Children. Daytime’s leading lady reveals the mystery behind the woman fans love to hate, and there are poignant moments aplenty in this 336-page tell-all. After you drop the red-wrapped present in your mother’s lap, you can quiz her on Erica Cane’s past (e.g., Who were the parents of the baby girl that Erica kidnapped in 1997?) on Lucci’s website here.
FOR MOTHERS WHO WILL LIKELY OUTLIVE THEIR PROGENY
It is Well With My Soul: The Extraordinary Life of a 106-Year-Old Woman by Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson and Patricia Mulcahy
Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson is 106 years old and has experienced a lot in the past century, as the child of former slaves who went on to receive a master’s degree in social work. This centenarian teaches us that compassion is one of the most important virtues to cultivate in order to have a long, satisfying life. What’s not to love about this book?
FOR FRUGAL MOTHERS WHO LOVE THE FOOD NETWORK
Bake Sale Cookbook by Sandra Lee
If your mom says she’s “going to the store” and then goes to Walmart to get deals on giant tubs of mayonnaise, she will probably love this book. In fact, she is probably already a huge fan of Lee’s two Food Network shows, Semi-Homemade Cooking and Money Saving Meals. What was I thinking? Get thee to the first mega-mall you see and pick up the hassle-free food maven’s magnum opus!