Editorial Review
An instant bestseller in both hardcover and paperback, Hope Edelman's Motherless Daughters explores the myriad ways that losing a mother can affect almost every aspect and passage of a woman's life. First published a decade ago, it is still the book that motherless daughters of all ages look to for understanding and comfort and that they press into each other's hands. Building on interviews with hundreds of mother- loss survivors, this life-affirming book is now newly expanded to reflect the author's personal experience with the continued legacy of mother loss; now married and a mother of young children herself, Edelman better understands how the effects of mother loss change over time and in light of new relationships. A work of stunning courage and honesty, Motherless Daughters is a must read for the millions of women whose mothers have gone, but whose need for healing, mourning, and mothering remains. It is a timeless classic.
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Customer Reviews
This is helpful at any age! 
2008-05-15
I lost my Mom when I was an adult of 32. Even though this book goes through different age stages, I was able to find something in each section that related to me. We all grieve differently if you are a young child or an adult. My Mom was my friend and confidant and there were still things that she missed when she passed on including my marriage and my child. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone and I'm going to order one for a friend who just lost their Mom.
Such a helpful book 2008-05-11
My mother died when I was 11 and now I'm 22 and getting married. I was really feeling bad about her not being at my wedding and I was dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety. This book helped me so much in realizing why I was the way I was growing up and what I can expect along the way. I would highly recommend this book for any daughter that has ever lost a mother, even if she wasn't lost through death.
SHE READ MY MIND 2008-04-02
I lost my mother to cancer a month after I graduated from high school, 2 months before leaving for college. I thought no one else out there could imagine what I was going through. My Dad remarried a few years later, he got a new wife but I was still left without a mom. He bought me this book as a gift one year, I read it cover to cover in one sitting. There were women out there who knew exactly how I felt, what I was feeling. I couldn't believe it. I have bought this book for five other women since then, all who lost their moms at different stages of their life for different reasons. Everyone of them loved the book. I have recently bought the workbook and have been going through it. It is a great companion to this book.
Painfully Beautiful 2008-03-04
This book did what 34 years of therapy with expensive and highly degreed therapists could not do. I lost my mother emotionally at the age of 12. While this book starts out addressing the physical death of a mother, it very well includes all kinds of losses that damage the mother-daughter relationship. My mother went from a warm, loving, nurturing parent who baked all the time and kept a clean house to a paranoid, delusional,slovenly woman who was never home, and who was physically abusive when she was; a woman who could not criticize me deeply and thoroughly enough. There were probably lots of reasons for that, none of them having anything to do with me. But at 12, how was I to know? I just thought she didn't love me anymore. I could not please her. At 16, I stopped trying, ran away from home and learned how to live on the streets.
This loss colored my life for the rest of my life, and it took every ounce of strength, energy and intellect to untangle the mess. This book shed some very crucial light on the deepest wound my soul carries. I know a closeness with my mother because of that painful bond that is a combination of pleasure and pain that is part and parcel of who I am. Today, thanks to Hope Edelman, I understand that bond (and the bond I have with my daughter)so much better.
self-help book 2008-02-22
First book of its' kind that I've located -- it will take me some time to get what I want out of it, because I want it to be all about me, not anyone else!
Motherless Daughters really helped me. 2008-01-10
An instant bestseller in both hardcover and paperback, Hope Edelman's Motherless Daughters explores the myriad ways that losing a mother can affect almost every aspect and passage of a woman's life. First published a decade ago, it is still the book that motherless daughters of all ages look to for understanding and comfort and that they press into each other's hands. Building on interviews with hundreds of mother- loss survivors, this life-affirming book is now newly expanded to reflect the author's personal experience with the continued legacy of mother loss; now married and a mother of young children herself, Edelman better understands how the effects of mother loss change over time and in light of new relationships. A work of stunning courage and honesty, Motherless Daughters is a must read for the millions of women whose mothers have gone, but whose need for healing, mourning, and mothering remains. It is a timeless classic.
Buying books from Amazon.com 2007-12-28
This item was just as described. I bought 2 of these books and they both reached me in about 4 days. Their condition was new and they were in great shape. I mailed one to a friend of mine, and she was totally thrilled by receiving it. She had loaned hers out a few years ago and never got it back. I knew how much this book meant to her and I replaced her copy and bought myself a copy. They both cost me less than 1 copy would have cost anywhere else. This was my first experience purchasing from Amazon.com. It was a good experience.
Excellent book 2007-12-23
There are not enough wonderful things I can express about this book for any young woman who has lost her mother early in life. Like the author, I lost my mother to breast cancer during adolescence (18 years old) after her 1-year battle with the disease. This book is written with such warmth and compassion that it touches upon the human condition and soul of a young girl who sees her mother as her friend, her own personal hero, and continues to grieve her and need her years after her passing. This book literally saved my sanity, as there was no one (including therapists) who knew about this subject matter the way the author shared in this book. This book will touch each motherless daughter in a unique way who has lost her mother during that pivotal part of her young adult life when she is trying to find her way and still feels the enormous void/vacuum and loss of losing her mother, who is often her best friend. It is wonderfully written, and I am very thankful that the author chose to share her story. She has touched and helped many lives.
Changed my life 2007-10-20
My step mother gave me this book when I was 20. My mother died of cancer when I was 10 months old and she became a myth and painful icon throughout my life. I spent close to 20 years trying to understand why I couldn't seem to get over the loss and dealing with the fact that I always felt like I was on the outside looking in on "normal" people. Thank God Edelman wrote this book! I finally understood that there was nothing wrong with me for still being traumatized by the loss all these years later. This book is highly, highly recommended.
Not really relevant to my situation 
2007-02-14
I bought this book for myself, after a friend recommended it (whose mother passed away when she was 13). My mother passed away in August, and it's now February. I was really looking forward to reading the book, as I thought it would help in the healing process. I think the book is better suited for someone who lost their mother at a young age, like the author. My mother passed away when I was 41, and the book doesn't really touch on motherless daughters who are my age. There have been certain excerpts that have helped, but after finishing the book, I found myself wishing it had been different.
