This is post is sponsored by Johnson County Library.
Motherhood has taken over my hands. My old pals Lefty and Righty? Yeah their dance card is fully booked for the foreseeable future. At any given point in the day, you can find my hands occupied with cleaning, hugging, catching, and carrying. And these mama hands? They are so talented that they don’t even have to be doing the same thing! Righty might be typing up an inquiry, but lefty is standing sentry, protecting my 2-year-old’s head from our table’s most menacing corner.
At this time in my life, it is nearly impossible to carve out time for my in-demand hands to hold a book and that makes me sad, because books are magic. Enter: audiobooks. I pop a one bluetooth headphone in, and I am whisked off to Victorian England, while washing the dishes or solving murders one step ahead of the detective, all while chauffeuring children.
If you too suffer from a case of mom-hands and miss the healing power of reading, I highly suggest you check out audiobooks, for free. Yes, I said for FREE! No need to spend your hard-earned Starbucks and travel money on books, utilize the Johnson County Library‘s expansive free and accessible audiobook collection! Head over to their website to find out how to get signed up for a library card. Then learn how to access their eAudiobooks using the Axis 360 eAudiobook app! You don’t even have to be a Johnson County resident; everyone is welcome!
I know that suddenly having access to thousands of audiobooks can be overwhelming, so to get you started…
12 Best Audiobooks for Moms
Call the Midwife
A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times
By Jennifer Worth
Synopsis: Jennifer Worth’s memoir of her work as a 1950’s midwife in the slums of London’s East End is the inspiration behind the BBC’s popular series, Call the Midwife. The memoir is just as entertaining in audiobook form as it is on the screen. This collection of stories from Worth’s time as a midwife is equal parts uplifting, heartbreaking, and informative. Check out.
Cat and Nat’s Mom Truths
Embarrassing Stories and Brutally Honest Advice on the Extremely Real Struggle of Motherhood
By Catherine Belknap and Natalie Telfer
Synopsis: “Hilarious best friends Cat and Nat created a massive online community of moms by sharing their ultra-real and just a bit R-rated dispatches from the mom trenches” and now they have poured their most entertaining and least instagram-polished stories into this hilarious book. Their book is chalk-full of hysterical and honest mom advice. Check out.
The Mother-in-Law
By Sally Hepworth
Synopsis: The Mother-in-Law is a juicy domestic thriller filled with twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. “From the moment Lucy met her husband’s mother, Diana, she was kept at arm’s length.” But when Diana ends up dead, Not only will Lucy’s relationship with her Mother-in-Law be examined, but Diana’s relationship with all of her children will be put under a microscope destined to reveal every hidden secret. Check out.
Bringing up Bébé
One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting
By Pamela Druckerman
Synopsis: When American Pamela Druckerman, a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal, has her baby while living in France, she is surprised to find that there are major differences in French and American parenting culture. To her American eyes, French children seemed better behaved, without seeming subdued and French mothers seemed more relaxed, without being neglectful. This book is an interesting study in the power parenting choice and cultural differences. Check out.
How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen
By Joanna Faber
Synopsis: I recommend this book to anyone entering the dreaded toddler stage. My husband and I cherished this book’s advice so much that we bought the physical copy after listening to it on audiobook and we return to its strategies frequently. “This user-friendly guide will empower parents and caregivers of young children to forge rewarding, joyful relationships with their” 2-7 year olds and “will help little kids grow into self-reliant big kids who are cooperative and connected to their parents, teachers, siblings, and peers.” Check out.
Little Fires Everywhere
By Celeste Ng
Synopsis: This is a story of mothers and motherhood, friendship and rivalry. The life of Elena Richardson, rule-follower and “model mother” intertwines with that of her polar opposite, Mia Warren, a single mother and free-spirited artist, when Mia moves to the picture-perfect suburb, Shaker Heights. “When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town–and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides.” Filled with juicy suburban conflict and dramatic secrets, this is a story you won’t be able to pause. Check out.
Come As You Are
The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life
By Emily Nagoski
Synopsis: Emily Nagoski is a counselor and sex educator whose goal is to help women and couples “live with confidence and joy inside their bodies” on a road to “mindfulness, desire, and pleasure that will radically transform [their] sex” lives. Come As You Are is an intriguing listen that is a pleasant mix of real-life stories and hard-hitting science. Check out.
Year of Yes
How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person
By Shonda Rhimes
Synopsis: Year of Yes is an inspiring memoir from Shonda Rhimes, the creator and producer of hit television series including, Grey’s Anatomy and Netflix’s, Bridgerton. “With three children at home and three hit television shows, it was easy for Shonda to say she was simply too busy. But in truth, she was also afraid.” Her entertaining and inspiring memoir chronicles the year in her life in which she promised herself to say YES to joy, opportunity, and to her truest self. Check out.
The Book of Unknown Americans
By Cristina Henríquez
Synopsis: When Arturo and Alma Rivera’s daughter, Maribel, suffers a terrible injury, the family is forced to leave behind the life they have always known in Mexico and move to America with the hope they will be able to find the resources to help their daughter recover. Upon the move, Maribel meets and falls in love with Mayor Toro, a boy from Panama and from there, The Book of Unknown Americans, follows the story of the two families making their way in a new land. “Woven into their stories are the testimonials of men and women who have come to the United States from all over Latin America. Their journeys and their voices will inspire you, surprise you, and break your heart.” Check out.
Little Women
By Louisa May Alcott
Synopsis: This delightful classic follows the lives of the four March sisters as they “struggle, fight, sing, write, run, play, weep, laugh, and love their ways through life in Civil War New England”. This lively crew of sisters is headed by one of the most beloved mothers in all of literature, Marmee. Listening to Alcott’s Little Women is like wrapping yourself in the warm hug you didn’t know you needed. Check out.
Untamed
By Glennon Doyle
Synopsis: Sure, motherhood is joy and a gift. But if we are not careful, motherhood can swallow us whole. Glennon Doyle’s latest book is about finding ourselves outside of the noise and expectations of the world. It is a memoir about bravery, change, personal identity, and power. Untamed is a memoir that reveals that “when we quit abandoning ourselves and instead abandon the world’s expectations of us, we become women who can finally look at our lives and recognize: There She Is.” Check out.
The Four Winds
By Kristin Hannah
Synopsis: The Four Winds, a novel set in Texas,1934, follows Elsa Martinelli, an indomitable woman who has to mother her children during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. “In this uncertain and dangerous time, Elsa must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or go west, to California, in search of a better life.” This cinematic novel showcases the power of a mother’s determination and sacrifice. Check out.
So now that you have a hands-free and spending-free (thanks, Johnson County Library!) solution to reading, what will you listen to first?
