22 books to get your mom on Mother's Day 2022
CBC Books | | Posted: May 5, 2022 7:35 PM | Last Updated: May 5, 2022
Books make great gifts. From history to fantasy and everything in between, here are some suggestions for your mom on Mother's Day.
If your mother enjoys a "triumph of the human spirit" story, try Bluebird by Genevieve Graham
Bluebird takes place during the First World War and tells the story of a young nurse named Adele who forms a strong bond with Jeremiah, a wounded soldier under her care. Jeremiah returns to the front — but when the war is over, the two cross paths in their hometown of Windsor, Ont., and see it as a second chance. Prohibition brings new danger to the city and it threatens to tear them apart.
Genevieve Graham is a bestselling writer from Nova Scotia who has written several novels that highlight Canadian history. Her other books include At the Mountain's Edge, Letters Across the Sea, Come From Away and The Forgotten Home Child.
If your mother admires strong women, try (M)othering edited by Anne Sorbie & Heidi Grogan
(M)othering is an anthology collection of writing and art about the act of mothering. The contributors explore what it means to create and birth something to how it feels to love your creation and suffer loss. These stories tackle identity, adoption, abortion, addiction, self-care, sacrifice, nature and nurture, making art, loneliness, anger and joy — going beyond the pathologizing of the pregnant female body.
Annie Sorbie is a Scottish Canadian writer, artist and editor. Her first collection of poetry, Falling Backwards Into Mirrors, was published in 2019.
Heidi Grogan is a writer and editor from Alberta. She has written several pieces of nonfiction including the Boobs anthology, which is about the burdens, expectations and pleasures of having breasts.
If your mother enjoys travelling, try Book of Wings by Tawhida Tanya Evanson
Book of Wings is a novel that follows an artist on a global journey with her lover, from Canada to the Caribbean to Paris and beyond. Along the way, their relationship falls apart, but the artist goes on a personal and spiritual journey as she traverses the globe.
Tawhida Tanya Evanson is an Antiguan Québecois writer, artist and performer who currently lives in Montreal. She is also the author of the poetry collections Nouveau Griot and Bothism. Book of Wings is her first work of fiction and was on the Canada Reads 2022 longlist.
If your mother appreciates short stories, try We Two Alone by Jack Wang
Set over a century and spanning five continents, We Two Alone traces the evolution of the Chinese immigrant experience. Following various people, families and professionals across the globe, Wang creates a tapestry of experiences that encompass the trials and tribulations of a diaspora trying to find its place in the world.
We Two Alone won the 2021 Danuta Gleed Literary Award for best first short story collection and was on the Canada Reads 2022 longlist.
Jack Wang is a N.Y.-based writer and professor originally from Vancouver. He teaches in the Department of Writing at Ithaca College and his short stories have been published in Joyland Magazine, The Humber Literary Review and The New Quarterly.
If your mother likes stories featuring unconventional heroines, try Lucky by Marissa Stapley
Lucky is a novel about a scam artist named Lucky Armstrong. She just pulled off her biggest scam yet, a million dollar heist with her boyfriend. But things don't go as planned and Lucky ends up alone. Her escape hatch is a lucky lottery ticket she bought. It's worth millions, but if she cashes it in, the police will know where she is. With no one she can trust, and nothing to lose, what is she going to do?
Marissa Stapley is a writer and journalist from Toronto. Her other novels include Mating for Life, Things to Do When It's Raining and The Last Resort.
If your mother cares about the environment, try Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard
Biologist Suzanne Simard discovered the reality of the interconnection and intelligence of the forest. She's been able to find out that the trees are indeed whispering to each other — communicating not through the wind, but through the soil. Her scientific memoir, Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest, describes her life and research.
Finding the Mother Tree was the grand prize winner for the 2021 Banff Mountain Book Competition and a category winner for the mountain environment and natural history award.
Suzanne Simard is a B.C.-based author and academic who grew up in Canadian forests as a descendant of loggers. She is a professor in the department of forest and conservation sciences at the University of British Columbia. Simard championed Life in the City of Dirty Water by Clayton Thomas-Müller on Canada Reads 2022.
If your mother likes to laugh, try The Prairie Chicken Dance Tour by Dawn Dumont
The Prairie Chicken Dance Tour is about the trials and tribulations of a touring dance group. Right before a 15-day tour through Europe, all the performers in the Prairie Chicken dance troupe come down with the flu. So, John Greyeyes, a retired cowboy who hasn't danced in 15 years, is thrust into leading a hastily assembled group of replacement dancers. As the gaggle of amateur dancers make its way from one stop to another, nothing goes as planned and the tour becomes a string of madcap adventures.
Dawn Dumont is a Plains Cree writer, comedian and actor who lives in Saskatoon. She is the author of Rose's Run, Glass Beads and Nobody Cries at Bingo, which was shortlisted for the 2012 Alberta Readers Choice Awards, Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Award and First Nation Communities READ Award.
If your mother loves rom-com, try Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron
Kamila has a nearly perfect life. While she keeps herself busy by throwing Bollywood movie parties, hanging out with her endless array of friends and running her dog's wildly successful Instagram account, her love life is lagging behind. So Kamila decides to start flirting with a handsome family friend named Rohan and eventually develops a crush. When Kamila's secret nemesis returns to town with an eye for Rohan, things start to unravel and Kamila's life gets turned upside down.
Farah Heron is a writer from Toronto. She is also the author of the romantic comedies The Chai Factor and Accidentally Engaged and the YA novel Tahira in Bloom.
If your mother enjoys poetry, try Waking Occupations by Phoebe Wang
Waking Occupations is a four-part mediation on what it means to live on occupied land. These poems reflect on what we carry from previous generations, the difficult truths we often forget and the art that holds us accountable.
Phoebe Wang is an Ottawa-born poet and author. Her debut poetry collection Admission Requirements, which explores stories of the land and searches for a secure sense of belonging, was shortlisted for the 2018 League of Canadian Poets Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. Wang also made the CBC Poetry Prize longlist in 2016.
If your mother is into thrillers, try Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey
Watch Out for Her is about a young mother named Sarah who thinks her problems are solved when she hires a babysitter, Holly, for her six-year-old son. Her son adores Holly and Holly adores Sarah. But when Sarah sees something that she can't unsee, she uproots her family to start over. Her past follows her to this new life, raising paranoid questions of who is watching Sarah now? And what do they want?
Samantha M. Bailey is a journalist and editor in Toronto. Her first thriller, Woman on the Edge, was released in 2019.
If your mother likes reading about celebrating change, try People Change by Vivek Shraya
In People Change, multidisciplinary artist Vivek Shraya reflects on what motivates us to change and why we often fear it. From making resolutions to outgrowing relationships and dreams, the nonfiction book looks at why and how we are constantly contemplating who we want to be.
People Change is a guide to celebrating the many versions of ourselves — and inspires us to discover who we'll become next.
Vivek Shraya is a Canadian artist and author whose work in music, writing and visual art often transcends and overlaps with one another. Her books include the novel The Subtweet, the longform essay I'm Afraid of Men and graphic novel Death Threat.
If your mother likes books about books, try Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner
Bloomsbury Girls tells the story of Vivien Lowry, Grace Perkins and Evie Stone — three women with a complex web of relationships, goals and dreams — as they interact with famous literary figures. The novel is set in the 1950s world of publishing and the women work in an old-fashioned bookstore, run by men, called Bloomsbury Books. As they juggle their lives, the women work toward a future that is richer and more rewarding than anything society will allow.
Natalie Jenner is the bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society, which was the 2020 Goodreads Choice Award runner-up for historical fiction. Jenner is a former lawyer and independent bookshop owner. She was born in England and now lives in Oakville, Ont.
If your mother enjoys nonfiction, try Good Mom on Paper edited by Stacey May Fowles & Jen Sookfong Lee
Good Mom on Paper is a collection of 20 essays from writers like Heather O'Neill, Lee Maracle, Jael Richardson, Alison Pick and more. The collection is an honest and intimate exploration of the complicated relationship between motherhood and creativity. These essays pick at the often-invisible challenges of literary life as a parent and celebrate the systems that nurture writers who are mothers.
Stacey May Fowles is an award-winning journalist, essayist and the author of four books. Her writing has appeared in the Globe and Mail, The National Post, Elle Canada, The Walrus and elsewhere. Fowles lives in Toronto, where she is working on a children's book and her fourth novel.
Jen Sookfong Lee is a writer from Vancouver. Her books include The Conjoined, which was nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award and was a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, The Better Mother, which was a finalist for the City of Vancouver Book Award, The End of East, The Shadow List and Finding Home.
If your mother likes books about friendship, try The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe
The Spoon Stealer is a story about friendship, family secrets and belonging. The novel follows Emmeline, a compulsive spoon stealer that struggles to fit into life on her family's rural Nova Scotian farm. Struck by a family crisis during World War I, Emmeline flees to England to start a new life with her best friend, a small white dog named Vera. When she decides to write her memoirs, secrets are uncovered and friendships are formed as Emmeline learns more about herself and the world she lives in.
Lesley Crewe is a Nova Scotia columnist, screenwriter and author of several novels, including the forthcoming novel Nosy Parker, as well as Beholden, Mary, Mary, Amazing Grace, Chloe Sparrow, Kin and Relative Happiness, which has been adapted into a feature film. The Spoon Stealer won the 2021 Jim Connors Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction and was on the Canada Reads 2022 longlist.
If your mother cares about gender equality, try Secrets of the Sprakkar by Eliza Reid
Eliza Reid, the Canadian-born first lady of Iceland, looks at the country's success with gender equality. Sprakkar, an ancient Icelandic word, means extraordinary or outstanding women and this notion permeates the country's attitude towards women.
Through interviews and stories of her own experiences, Reid explores what it means to move through the world as a woman and how the rules of society play more of a role in who we view as equal than we may understand.
Eliza Reid is the Canadian-born first lady of Iceland. She has been first lady for the past five years, after her husband Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson was elected to the role of President and head of state in 2016. Reid has been a champion for gender equality, tourism, sustainability and literature during her tenure as first lady.
If your mother likes self-help books, try Be a Triangle by Lilly Singh
Actor, author and creator Lilly Singh explores how to create inner peace in the face of adversity. From Singh's personal struggles with identity, success and self-doubt, she teaches readers to "unsubscribe" from cookie-cutter ideals.
Be a Triangle is an uplifting guide to befriending yourself.
Lilly Singh is a Toronto-born entertainer, author, YouTuber and former late-night talk show host. She gained international popularity through her YouTube channel, Superwoman. Her debut book, How to Be a Bawse, won a 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards.
If your mother likes graphic novels, try Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto
In the graphic novel Shadow Life, 76-year-old Kumiko is placed in a long-term care home by her daughters. It's not what Kumiko wants and she breaks out and takes refuge in an apartment she keeps secret from her children. She finds the pleasure in simple, daily life, but Death's shadow haunts her. Kumiko is ready to fight for the life she's built herself, but how long can she fight back?
Hiromi Goto is a writer and editor from British Columbia. Her novels include Chorus of Mushrooms, Half World and Darkest Light. Shadow Life is her first graphic novel. Goto was on the 2020 CBC Poetry Prize shortlist for alley/bird/ally.
Ann Xu is an American illustrator.
If your mother likes reading about magic and science, try Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch takes place in a small German town in 1618, where an elderly widow is accused of witchcraft. In the German duchy of Württemberg, fear is palpable — the plague is spreading, and The Thirty Years' War has begun. So when a woman named Ursula Reinbold accuses widow Katharina of offering her a witchy drink that has made her ill, Katharina is in trouble.
Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch was shortlisted for the 2021 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and was on the Canada Reads 2022 longlist.
Rivka Galchen is a Canadian American writer. She is also the author of the novel Atmospheric Disturbances. She lives in New York City.
If your mother likes stories about community, try I Am Because We Are by Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr
I Am Because We Are documents how Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr's late mother, Dora Akunyili, faced down misogyny and corruption in Nigeria. The nonfiction book is a look at how Dora Akunyili took on fraudulent drug manufacturers after their products killed millions, including her sister. And when Akunyili becomes an elected official, she faced death threats and an assassination attempt. Akunyili-Parr's mother suffered for her beliefs, as did her marriage and six children.
I Am Because We Are explores the importance of community over the individual and the power of kinship.
Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr is a Nigerian Canadian writer, speaker and the founder of She ROARs, a global community empowering women. She was included in The Guardian's list of the 100 most inspiring women in Nigeria. I Am Because We Are is her first book.
If your mother likes powerful stories about hope, try Still Hopeful by Maude Barlow
Maude Barlow counters the prevailing atmosphere of pessimism and offers lessons of hope that she has learned from a lifetime of activism. Barlow has been involved in three major movements: second-wave feminism, the battle against free trade and globalization and the fight for water justice. She emphasizes that effective activism is about building a movement and finding like-minded people rather than making the goal the focus.
Maude Barlow is a Canadian activist and writer. She is the bestselling author of 20 books and served as the senior water advisor to the UN General Assembly. Barlow was a leader in the campaign to have water recognized as a human right. She lives in Ottawa.
If your mother wants to read stories of healing and resilience, try In My Own Moccasins by Helen Knott
Helen Knott is a poet and writer of Dane Zaa, Nehiyaw and European descent. Her memoir, In My Own Moccasins, is a story of addiction, sexual violence and intergenerational trauma. It explores how colonization has affected her family over generations, but it is also a story of hope and redemption, celebrating the resilience and history of her family.
Helen Knott is a social worker and writer who lives in B.C. In My Own Moccasins is her first book. It was longlisted for the 2020 RBC Taylor Prize. She has also contributed to publications like Malahat Review, Chatelaine and The New Quarterly.
If your mother likes speculative nonfiction, try The Next Civil War by Stephen Marche
Drawing upon sophisticated predictive models and nearly 200 interviews with scholars, military leaders, law enforcement officials and political scientists, Edmonton-born author Stephen Marche predicts the future collapse of America.
The Next Civil War is a researched work of speculative nonfiction that breaks down the possible scenarios and looming threats for America's people, land and government.
Stephen Marche is a Canadian novelist, essayist and cultural commentator. He is the author of several books including The Unmade Bed and The Hunger of the Wolf. His writing has appeared in the New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Esquire and The Walrus.