The perfect Mother’s Day gift can indeed be books. In this curated book recommendation, we have compiled a list of books about the multifaceted lives of women and mothers. These books explore a range of experiences, from poignant coming-of-age stories to heartwarming narratives of motherhood, from personal encounters to enduring friendships, and from the complexities of love to the depths of loss, among other inspiring themes. Some of these stories may resonate deeply, sparking memories of the past and making them truly special gifts.
Are you in search of the perfect Mother’s Day gift? Look no further! These thoughtfully curated titles are certain to inspire the mothers in your life. Whether it’s for your mother, grandmother, sister, or friend, these books celebrate the resilience, joys, and beauty of motherhood.
Read our recommendations below.
ROOTLESS
Author: KRYSTLE ZARA APPIAH
Genre: FICTION
Everyone seemed to know Efe and Sam were meant to be—except themselves. Efe, newly arrived from Ghana and weighed down by parental expectations, found solace in Sam’s focused and idealistic nature. Sam, half-Ghanaian, is stable with a law career in sight. Efe, on the other hand, dropped out of university, worked at a bookstore, dreaming of a life as an art curator, a dream her mother condemned. Despite years as friends, their fling led to marriage and family, presenting a seemingly perfect love story.
But as they say, looks can be deceiving. With an unexpected pregnancy, they found themselves at odds—fatherhood fulfilled Sam’s dreams while Efe felt trapped. A revelation forced them to confront their disparate aspirations. Overwhelmed by motherhood, Efe fled to Ghana, leaving Sam and their daughter. As Sam’s illusion of their marriage shatters, Efe is determined to figure out which life she should pursue: the stability of her marriage, or the reawakened freedom she’s finally found as an artist herself.
In Rootless, a poignant tale of motherhood and sacrifice unfolds, revealing what comes after a marriage’s collapse as two souls seek to rediscover their desires.
WOMAN AT POINT ZERO
AUTHOR: NAWAL EL SAADAWI
GENRE: FICTION
Woman at Point Zero was written in 1975 and published in Arabic in 1977. The novel is based on Nawal El Saadawi’s meeting with a female prisoner in Qanatir Prison and is the first-person account of Firdaus, a murderess who has agreed to tell her life story before her execution.
From her prison cell, Firdaus recounts her journey from a rural childhood to a life as a city prostitute, ultimately facing a death sentence for killing a pimp on a Cairo street. She views society’s retribution, death, as her sole means of achieving freedom at last. The novel explores the themes of women and their place within a patriarchal society. The novel was translated to English by Sharif Hatata.
LIKE A MULE BRINGING ICE CREAM TO THE SUN
AUTHOR: SARAH LADIPO MANYIKA
GENRE: FICTION
Morayo Da Silva is a cosmopolitan Nigerian woman who lives in San Francisco. Approaching the age of seventy-five, she maintains good health and embraces life to the fullest, indulging in road trips with her vintage Porsche, engaging in conversations with strangers, and reminiscing about characters from her beloved novels. However, when she experiences a fall, her independence shatters. Deprived of familial support, she leans on friendships and other encounters. As Morayo recounts her tale, effortlessly navigating between past and present, we encounter Dawud, a charming Palestinian shopkeeper; Sage, a spirited homeless Grateful Dead devotee; and Antonio, the poet whom Morayo desired more than her ambassador husband. Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun is a story about ageing, friendship and loss.
LUCKY GIRL
AUTHOR: IRENE MUCHEMI-NDIRITU
GENRE: FICTION
Soila is deemed fortunate by all standards. Nurtured under the care of her stern, conservative mother and a multitude of aunts, she has led a sheltered existence in Nairobi. With a headstrong and outspoken nature, Soila finds herself at odds with her mother’s rigid rules. However, after enduring a traumatic assault by a trusted family friend, she escapes to New York for college, swearing never to revisit her hometown.
However, New York in the 1990s is not what Soila imagined it would be. Instead of finding a golden land of opportunity, Soila is shocked by the entitlement of her wealthy American classmates and the poverty she sees in the streets. She befriends a Black American girl at school and witnesses the insidious racism her friend endures, forcing Soila to begin to acknowledge the legacy of slavery and the blind spots afforded by her Kenyan upbringing. When she falls in love with a free-spirited artist, a man her mother would never approve of, she must decide whether to honor her Kenyan identity and what she owes to her family, or to follow her heart and forge a life of her own design.
Lucky Girl is a heartfelt debut that delves into the choices we make in life and love—capturing the essence of the African immigrant experience in America at the dawn of the new millennium, and depicting the journey of a young woman as she seeks her rightful place in the world.
DELE WEDS DESTINY
AUTHOR: DELE WEDS DESTINY BY TOMI OBARO
GENRE: FICTION
Zainab, Funmi and Enitan first meet at University in northern Nigeria, all learning how to become themselves. It’s an experience that binds the three very different women together. When Enitan moves to New York to elope with a white man, Zainab and Funmi are left behind, with drastically different fortunes. Over the course of thirty years, their lives and friendships diverge and change. Enitan is separating from her husband, trying to understand her daughter Remi. Zainab finds herself the sole breadwinner for her husband and their four sons. And Funmi is living a life of confined luxury, as the wife of a successful, shady businessman. But theirs is a friendship that can endure decades of distance. And in 2015, they are reunited for the first time for the wedding of Funmi’s daughter, Destiny. Here they will reflect on their pasts, the things they loved and lost—but the present brings unexpected surprises too, because their daughters, Remi and Destiny, might just be as rebellious and open-hearted as they once were. Dele Weds Destiny is the story of three once-inseparable friends who reunite for the first time in thirty years. It is a book about mothers and daughters, culture and class, sex and love, and the extraordinary resilience of female friendship.
AN UNUSUAL GRIEF
AUTHOR: YEWANDE OMOTOSO
GENRE: FICTION
How do you get to know your daughter when she is dead? This is the question which takes a mother on an unusual journey of self-discovery, both mental and sexual. When her daughter Yinka dies, Mojisola is finally forced to stop running away from the difficulties in their relationship, and also come to terms with Yinka the woman. Mojisola’s grief leads her on a journey of self-discovery, as she moves into her daughter’s apartment and begins to unearth the life Yinka had built for herself there, away from her family. Through stepping into Yinka’s shoes, Mojisola comes to a better understanding not only of her estranged daughter, but also herself, as she learns to carve a place for herself in the world beyond the labels of wife and mother. An Unusual Grief is a bold and unflinching tale of one women’s unconventional approach to life and loss.
THE SEX LIVES OF AFRICAN WOMEN: SELF-DISCOVERY, FREEDOM, AND HEALING
AUTHOR: NANA DARKOA SEKYIAMAH
GENRE: NON-FICTION
Weaving a rich tapestry of experiences with a sex positive outlook, The Sex Lives of African Women is an empowering book that celebrates the liberation, individuality, and joy of African women’s multifaceted sexuality. In these confessional pages, women control their own bodies and desires, work toward healing their painful pasts, and learn to assert their sexual power. From a queer community in Egypt, to polyamorous life in Senegal, and a reflection on the intersection of religion and pleasure in Cameroon, Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah explores the many layers of love and desire, its expression, and how it defines who we are. For this book, Sekyiamah spoke to over 30 African women across the globe while chronicling her own journey toward sexual freedom.