Motherless Daughters (20th Anniversary Edition)

I read this book because I loss my mother at the age of 16 and I never really mourned her death. Emotionally, I have struggled with with not knowing my mother, her dying before we were able to meet and never being able to fulfill a dream of mine as a child. This book was full of stories of women who had stories similar to mine. Ms. Edelman made every detail, every story relatable. Any woman whether they are a motherless daughter or not can find a piece of themselves in this book. As a woman or a person who has loss a parent or guardian I would highly recommend this read.

I lost my mother when I was 18. She died from pancreas cancer. Not only did I loose my mom that year, 2001, but I was homeless and I was a lost angry child. I had other issues and her death impacted me greatly. I'm now 40, and for some reason I was finding this year to be very difficult. I'm a wife, and a mother myself, with two boys. And I was struggling around the 22 year anniversary of her death this year 11/29/23. I was having panic attacks, crying, feeling scared. Scared of my own mortality. My son is turning 16 and I'm getting him ready for his driver's license. A milestone I didn't get to complete with my mother. And I think that's what triggered it. Also, I am always fearing I'll die before my kids are at least 21, out of high school, etc. I felt like I was abnormal but this book helped me realize that all the emotions I'm feeling are normal. I never got bereavement counseling or sought help after my mother's death. I never even talked about it in length because no one wanted to talk about it. My dad up and left and remarried 3-4 months later to a women in a different state. I think it's time now that I mourn her loss. Also I am seeking counseling soon to discuss my own fears and anxieties related to myself. Thank you Hope for helping me feel not so alone. No one wants to talk to me about it, and I feel so alone. No one I know that's close has lost their mom yet. I have been on an island by myself, and this book has helped. Thank you. And if you read this review, and you are feeling scared and alone, know you are not. This book was a good comfort.

I purchased this for my wife's friend my wife read this and is always referring to the book. It's helping her cope with the death of her mother. She loves the book great help explaining a lot of issues that I don't understand

I found this book as an adult when I was able to recognize how deeply my grandmother's death defined my mother. For my mom losing her mom at 12 meant she lost the person who was there to guide her, help her get through puberty, become a woman, learn to use makeup, took her to the doctor and the loss of having a parent to care for her and about her life. The loss of her mother as a kind and loving person was bad enough, she also lost all forms of parental support. This presented it's own set of challenges.My mom was smart and learned to fend for herself with the alcoholic parent she had left and his second wife (whom grandfather married 36 hours after my grandmother died) who was an alcoholic who abused her own children. My mom was bright, finished High School at 16 then moved in with her Grandmother, Aunt and Uncle. It was a better place for her, she put herself through secretarial college went to work, found love married at 18 and had a family.As her daughter, I could see how my grandmother's death still affected her. She always had to know where we were at every moment. It was hard for me to understand why she worried so and saw danger everywhere. I never felt alone, as if I had to fend for myself, lost, as if I had no one to guide me. She did and she felt guilty that she did not know more things to teach me. She was always worried that she was not a good mother because she did not know what mothering meant, beyond her own point of reference, past the age of 12.A college friend who lost her mom at 12 recommended this book, I read it and thought my mom should read it too. I got her a copy and we read it together and had many conversations about this topic. She decided to go to a therapist I went with her and she continued and this wonderful act of self-care helped her to heal. She still missed her mother but she was able to address many aspects of that loss and this book was the beginning of the journey.I wanted to share because if you lost a mom around puberty or your mom did this book can give you insights into that loss. Beyond that, it can also lend an understanding of how the loss of your mom at that age can define the person a girl becomes in the aftermath. For us this was helpful, we were able to define the event that shaped mom's life and our relationship, we were able to talk about it, we determined to find out what would help us to work out our plan to address "it" and we came out better. Better for my mom was happier, feeling proud of finding a way forward without a mother to guide her instead of feeling defeated and lost because her mom was not there. Better for me was to understand why she mothered that way and to reassure her that I only knew the love and joy of having a mom, not the feeling of being cheated in some way. I was a better daughter, she was a better mother, and our mother-daughter dynamic was better.I don't know if this is what every woman grieving the loss of her mother should read, but if you lost your mom in adolescence this is worth a try. If you lost your mom around puberty as a daughter of someone who had that experience this book may help. I wish you peace and healing.

It was a beautifully written and really helpful book. As Hope's case was very similar to mine (my mother died when I was 18), it was a greatly helpful narrative for me. So many psychological effects because of this major tragedy in our lives is now better understood by me. There were so many moments while reading when I thought 'oh that is why I am like that now'. Since the written work is too beautiful in terms of capturing those emotions, feelings, insecurities, personality changes, it helped me in explaining the same thing to others about me. Also, the book validated my feelings. This is an important need of any woman and this book properly fulfilled it.The positives don't end here. The book also talks about how motherless daughters of different age group feels. It talks about females who lost their mother right after birth, childhood, in 20's or even elderly age. It explains that while I lost my mom in teenage, the effects on me are different from someone who lost her mom as a toddler, let's say. Thus, the book made me more empathetic to other daughters who lost their mothers at different stages of lives.Unlike others, I didn't cry or felt sad while reading this book. I somehow ended up reading with very analytical perspective. I was taking notes as soon as I remembered something or understood something better. Thus, it was a great tool for my own psychological analysis.So many thanks for Hope. It was a much needed book!

I first read this in 1994 right before I lost my mother. It is just as powerful now as it was then.

Good resource for anyone who has felt the loss of their mom

Absolutely love this book. I lost my Mum when I was 3 (nearly 4) I started therapy last year and feel like I finally had someone to talk to about my mum, & was able to start my grieving journey properly. I’ve wanted to feel close to her and understood, and that’s what this book does. I’m only 40 pages in & I can’t stop reading ❤️

Book is great, but book depostory delivery/shipping is crap

"Motherless Daughters" is a wonderful book. The author also lost her mother at a young age. She knows what it means when someone has to live with such a severe loss.This book has touched me to the very core. I feel understood and not alone anymore.Excellent. I can only recommend reading it.

First of all, thank you! This book has helped me so much. I’ve lost my mother when I was 6 and I could relate to so many experiences, thoughts and feelings from other motherless daughters described in this book. Characteristics I didn’t even know you could develop after losing your mother at a young age. It’s the first time in my healing journey I felt seen and understood. I didn’t feel crazy or alone. I must’ve highlighted half of the book so I can take these with me while I continue on this motherless journey.