6 books for Single Mothers by Choice and their children

In many ways, motherhood is the same, whether you are a Single Mother by Choice or in a relationship. Regardless of your civil status or sexuality, a child will bring joys, frustrations and unconditional love. Nevertheless, there is likely to be some aspects of single motherhood that only single mothers will get – which makes books and stories of other solo mums a great help.

In this blog post, we have made a list of 6 books about single motherhood. The first section includes books for and about Single Mothers by Choice, and the other section includes our recommendations for children’s books with a single mother and her child. We hope that these books can be of help and inspiration to you as a single mother.

For the mothers

In the following, we have put together a list of three books written for single mothers. They include inspiration and thoughts for the decision-making process as well as advice for single mums from other women who are single mothers themselves. If you are interested in advice for single mothers, but do not have the time or need to read books, then follow the link to our blog post on podcasts for Single Mothers by Choice.

Choosing Single Motherhood: The Thinking Woman´s guide

Journalist Mikki Morrissette writes the first book we would like to mention as a guide for the many women choosing to become Single Mothers by Choice. As part of the research for the book, Mikki Morrissette has interviewed 100 single mothers to create a guide for both Single Mothers by Choice and single mothers to be.

Besides the interviews, the book Choosing Single motherhood: The Thinking Woman´sguide is based on updated research on family structures and advice from child experts and family therapists to provide the reader with as much support as possible.

The 10 Best Decisions a Single Mom Can Make: A biblical guide for navigating family life on your own

The book The 10 Best Decisions a Single Mom Can Make was not specifically written for Single Mothers by Choice, but it is still useful since a lot of the issues raised in this book concern experiences that all sorts of single mothers will face.

The Authors, Pam Farrel and PeggySue Wells, are both single mothers themselves and with this book they use their own experiences to guide others in the same situation.

Going Solo: My choice to become a single mother using a donor

Going Solo: My choice to become a single mother using a donor is a book written by Genevieve Roberts who chose to become a single mother by using donor sperm. In the book, Genevieve Roberts shares her reasons for becoming a single mother and the fears she had about raising a child without a partner.

The book is a celebration of the special bond between a mother and her daughter, as well as a woman´s path to something else than the typical modern family.

For the children

For children in single mother families, it can be nice to hear stories of other families that the child can easily relate to. Here is a list of three children’s books about a single mother and her child. All the books we recommend in this section are meant for children aged three to six years old, and common for them all is their language and illustrations targeted children.

A Special Egg

A Special Egg is a book inspired by the author's own experiences with egg donation. Sally Baldwin became a mother through egg donation and as her daughter grew into an inquisitive toddler, she looked to find simple stories that would introduce the concept of egg donation to her. When she could not find any relevant books, she decided to write her own.

The book does not use any specific terminology and is intended for a basic introduction to egg donation. The story is told in a rhyming manner and is captivating for young minds.

Before You Were Born… My Wish For A Baby – SMBC

In Before You Were Born the main character of the book is a female bear that has a dream of becoming a mother. Because the bear is alone, she must use fertility treatment (IVF treatment) and a sperm donor to fulfil her dream of parenthood.

The book is part of a series of other books meant for children in different family constellations.

Chloe wants to be a mother

What do you do if your biggest wish is a child, but you do not have a male partner? In Chloe's case, her wish was granted by a shooting star. Chloe wants to be a mother is a book for children designed to illustrate their mother’s reason for choosing single motherhood.

One of the most important aspects of the book is the shooting star's second trip to Chloe and her new family, which it reminds Chloe to tell her daughter that she was her biggest wish and is born into a very special family. If you want to read more about same-sex or rainbow families, we can recommend you follow the link to our blog post on the subject.

If you are interested in other books for Single Mothers by Choice, we can recommend Susan Golombok’s book We are family. In this book, Susan Golombok shares her findings on different family structures and general learnings from donor-conceived children.