Motherless Daughters (20th Anniversary Edition)

This classic New York Times bestseller has helped millions of women cope with and heal from the grief of losing their mothers.

“A moving and valuable treatment of a neglected subject.” — New York Times Book Review

Although a mother's mortality is inevitable, no book has discussed the profound lasting and far reaching effects of this loss until Motherless Daughters , which became an instant classic. More than twenty years later, it is still the go-to book that women of all ages look to for comfort and understanding when their mother dies.

Building on interviews with hundreds of mother loss survivors, Edelman's personal story of losing her mother, and research in grief and psychology, Motherless Daughters reveals the shared experiences and core identity issues of motherless women: Why the absence of a nurturing hand shapes a woman's identity throughout her lifespan How present day relationships are defined by past losses How women can resolve past conflicts and move toward acceptance and healing Why grief is not a linear passage, but an ongoing cyclical journey How the legacy of maternal loss shifts with the passage of time