Books like Mothers Who Can't Love by Susan Forward

Sarah Addison Allen’s charming follow‑up to *Garden Spells* follows 27‑year‑old Josey Cirrini as waitress Della Lee’s unexpected arrival turns her sugary‑cluttered life into a journey of friendship, romance, and quirky magic.

When her tightly scheduled life cracks open, Penelope slips into the Realm of Possibility—an ever‑sticking world of time—and discovers her only hope to save it is her own imagination.

A young woman’s efforts to keep a charming, independent travel writer at her seaside hometown while she battles personal grief and longing for adventure.

Cassie O'Malley, committed to a mental hospital against her will, defies medical advice at eighteen, seeks a fresh start in college, only to have her estranged mother return and unravel all she thought she knew about herself.

A guide for women whose mothers lacked affection, offering self‑help strategies to heal emotional wounds, rebuild confidence, and establish healthy relationships.

"Poignant, touching, and lively, this memoir of a woman who loses her mother and creates a new life for herself in Paris will speak to anyone who has lost a parent or reinvented themselves. Lisa Anselmo wrapped her entire life around her mother, a strong woman who was a defining force in her daughter's life--maybe too defining. When her mother dies from breast cancer, Lisa realizes she hadn't built a life of her own, and struggles to find her purpose. Who is she without her mother--and her mother's expectations? Desperate for answers, she reaches for a lifeline in the form of an apartment in Paris, refusing to play it safe for the first time. What starts out as a lurching act of survival sets Lisa on a course that reshapes her life in ways she never could have imagined. But how can you imagine a life bigger than anything you've ever known? In the vein of Eat, Pray, Love and Wild, My (Part-time) Paris Life a story is for anyone who's ever felt lost or hopeless, but still holds out hope of something more. This candid memoir explores one woman's search for peace and meaning, and how the ups and downs of expat life in Paris taught her to let go of fear, find self-worth, and create real, lasting happiness"--

Seventeen‑year‑old Felicity struggles to live up to her mother’s expectations after her sister vanishes. A chance meeting with band member Alec Williams at a charity ball sparks a search for happiness and a surprising family secret that propels her on a road trip to find her sister.

In this heartbreaking and shocking expose, one of Dynasty's biggest stars lays bare a secretive organization that is holding her daughter hostage and details her mission to save her in this powerful depiction of a mother's love and determination. "I am a mother whose child is being abused and exploited. And I am not alone." In 2011, Catherine joined her daughter, India, at a leadership seminar for a new organization called NXIVM. Her twenty-year-old daughter was on the threshold of building a new company and they both thought this program might help her achieve her dream. But quickly, Catherine saw a sinister side to what appeared to be a self-help organization designed to help its clients become the best versions of themselves. Catherine watched in horror as her daughter fell further and further down the rabbit hole, becoming brainwashed by the organization's charismatic leader. Despite Catherine's best efforts, India was drawn deeper into the cult, eventually joining a secret, elite "sorority" of women members who are ordered to maintain a restricted diet, recruit other women as "slaves," and are branded with their leader's initials. In Captive, Catherine shares every parent's worst nightmare, and the lengths that a mother will go to save her child. Featuring interviews with past members of NXIVM and experts in the field of cults, Oxenberg attempts to draw back the curtain on how these groups continue to lure in members. She relates her continuing journey to try to reach her daughter, to save her from what she believes is a dangerous, mind-controlling cult.

When a pregnancy pact forces three teenage girls into unexpected parenthood, a single mother and high‑school principal must confront judgment, financial strain, and her own hopes while striving to protect her daughter and career.

"The first book specifically for daughters suffering from the emotional abuse of selfish, self-involved mothers, Will I Ever Be Good Enough? provides the expert assistance you need in order to overcome this debilitating history and reclaim your life for yourself. Drawing on over two decades of experience as a therapist specializing in women's psychology and health, psychotherapist Dr. Karyl McBride helps you recognize the widespread effects of this maternal emotional abuse and guides you as you create an individualized program for self-protection, resolution, and complete recovery." "Herself the recovering daughter of a narcissistic mother, Dr. McBride includes her personal struggle, which adds a profound level of authority to her work, along with the perspectives of the hundreds of suffering daughters she's interviewed over the years. Their stories of how maternal abuse has manifested in their lives - as well as how they have successfully overcome its effects - show you that you're not alone and that you can take back your life and have the control you want. Warm and sympathetic, filled with the examples of women who have established healthy boundaries with their hurtful mothers, Will I Ever Be Good Enough? encourages and inspires you as it aids your recovery."--Jacket.

A Chinese‑American high schooler in 1980s San Francisco discovers her own voice when a required speech class reveals a talent she never knew she had, challenging her mother’s plan for her to become a doctor.