Episode 118 || The 'Other' Mother

Annie and Chris talk about "alternative" visions of motherhood for Mother's Day this year, and it takes a weirdly dark turn. Sorry. Get a sneak peek at Chris's fall Women in Literature class and hear some of Annie's favorite mom-centric books.

Chris's class books:
+ Dear Ijeawele by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
+ The Mothers by Brit Bennett
+ The First Bad Man by Miranda July
+ Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel
+ Pregnant Butch by A. K. Summers
+ Marriage of a Thousand Lies by SJ Sindu
+ Beloved by Toni Morrison
+ The Babadook

*CORRECTION: The quote from Beloved is "You your own best thing, Sethe," not "You your best self," as previously reported.

Some of Annie's favorites:
+ Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
+ The Mothers by Brit Bennett
+ The Color of Water by James McBride
+ Rabbit Cake by Annie Harnett
+ Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan
+ A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson
+ This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
+ French Milk by Lucy Knisley

And please, are there good mother/son novels out there that don't have any sort of implied incest theme? Let me know. I need to know.