Honest Motherhood
Author: Ward, Libby
ISBN: 9780593735213
Publisher: RANDOM HOUSE US
Year first published: 19 May 2026
Pages: 288
Format: Hardback
Plt;bPgt;An unflinchingly honest and disarmingly funny memoir from an exhausted mom who broke under the pressure to do it all, faced her past, found herself in the rubble, and then paved her way out by telling the truthP#8212;and learned to let go of perfection and just serve the dang chicken nuggets.Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt;Pquot;Libby is shifting the cultural narrative in a way that will echo for generations. Plt;iPgt;Honest MotherhoodPlt;/iPgt; is a powerful blend of truth-telling and rebellionP#8212;a rallying cry for women to stop carrying what was never theirs to hold.Pquot; P#8212;Eve Rodsky, Plt;iPgt;New York TimesPlt;/iPgt; bestselling author of Fair PlayPlt;/bPgt;Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt;When Libby Ward became a mother at twenty-six, she thought she was prepared. Determined to give her kids a childhood different from her own, she clung to the worldP#8217;s P#8220;shouldsP#8221; like her childrenP#39;s future depended on it. That was her first mistake.Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt;A couple years later, with a toddler around her ankle, a needy baby in her arms, and silent rage coursing through her veins, Libby began to unravel. Struggling to manage the unrelenting and often unspoken expectations of mothering, she did what any overfunctioning people-pleaser would doP#8212;she wallowed in shame. Then, she tried harder. Plt;iPgt;Self-care! Boundaries! Sleep when the baby sleeps! Plt;/iPgt;But as LibbyP#8217;s body and mind began to push back, Libby wondered: Why, with so much information and advice at our fingertips, is motherhood still so impossibly hard?Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt;In Plt;iPgt;Honest MotherhoodPlt;/iPgt;, Libby candidly shares her journey of unlearning the myth of the ideal mother. She dives headfirst into the experiences many mothers have but few feel safe enough to say out loudP#8212;the lack of support, the guilt, the invisibility, the cycles theyP#8217;re breaking, and the fantasies about a hospital stay just to get a flippinP#8217; break. Libby untangles her social conditioning from learned trauma responses and discovers that letting go of unrealistic standards, asking for help, and prioritizing herself arenP#8217;t failuresP#8212;theyP#8217;re necessities.Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt;Equal parts memoir and manifesto, flush with refreshing takeaways, Plt;iPgt;Honest MotherhoodPlt;/iPgt; is a rallying cry for moms to let go of perfection, choose themselves, and give their kids what they need mostP#8212;a mother who is present and whole.
ISBN: 9780593735213
Publisher: RANDOM HOUSE US
Year first published: 19 May 2026
Pages: 288
Format: Hardback
Plt;bPgt;An unflinchingly honest and disarmingly funny memoir from an exhausted mom who broke under the pressure to do it all, faced her past, found herself in the rubble, and then paved her way out by telling the truthP#8212;and learned to let go of perfection and just serve the dang chicken nuggets.Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt;Pquot;Libby is shifting the cultural narrative in a way that will echo for generations. Plt;iPgt;Honest MotherhoodPlt;/iPgt; is a powerful blend of truth-telling and rebellionP#8212;a rallying cry for women to stop carrying what was never theirs to hold.Pquot; P#8212;Eve Rodsky, Plt;iPgt;New York TimesPlt;/iPgt; bestselling author of Fair PlayPlt;/bPgt;Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt;When Libby Ward became a mother at twenty-six, she thought she was prepared. Determined to give her kids a childhood different from her own, she clung to the worldP#8217;s P#8220;shouldsP#8221; like her childrenP#39;s future depended on it. That was her first mistake.Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt;A couple years later, with a toddler around her ankle, a needy baby in her arms, and silent rage coursing through her veins, Libby began to unravel. Struggling to manage the unrelenting and often unspoken expectations of mothering, she did what any overfunctioning people-pleaser would doP#8212;she wallowed in shame. Then, she tried harder. Plt;iPgt;Self-care! Boundaries! Sleep when the baby sleeps! Plt;/iPgt;But as LibbyP#8217;s body and mind began to push back, Libby wondered: Why, with so much information and advice at our fingertips, is motherhood still so impossibly hard?Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt;In Plt;iPgt;Honest MotherhoodPlt;/iPgt;, Libby candidly shares her journey of unlearning the myth of the ideal mother. She dives headfirst into the experiences many mothers have but few feel safe enough to say out loudP#8212;the lack of support, the guilt, the invisibility, the cycles theyP#8217;re breaking, and the fantasies about a hospital stay just to get a flippinP#8217; break. Libby untangles her social conditioning from learned trauma responses and discovers that letting go of unrealistic standards, asking for help, and prioritizing herself arenP#8217;t failuresP#8212;theyP#8217;re necessities.Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt;Equal parts memoir and manifesto, flush with refreshing takeaways, Plt;iPgt;Honest MotherhoodPlt;/iPgt; is a rallying cry for moms to let go of perfection, choose themselves, and give their kids what they need mostP#8212;a mother who is present and whole.
