There’s a kind of exhaustion only mothers understand.
It’s not just about being tired. It’s bone-deep. It’s the kind of tired that comes from holding everyone else together while quietly unraveling yourself. It’s standing at the sink at 9:42 p.m., washing bottles with one hand while scrolling your to-do list with the other — after a day that started at 5:30 a.m., before your eyes even had time to adjust to the light.
If you’re here, reading this, there’s a good chance you’re not just tired.
You’re burned out.
And you’re not alone.
This post isn’t going to give you a productivity hack or a list of routines to “optimize” your day. What you need right now isn’t another checklist. You need care, and maybe even a little rescue. Something — anything — that helps you feel like you again.
So here’s what I offer:
Seven books that saved me.
Books that met me in the mess, in the fog, in the quiet heartbreak of wondering if I still existed beyond motherhood. These pages didn’t solve my life, but they lit candles in the dark. They whispered, You’re not alone. You’re still in there. Let’s find you again.
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1. “Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle” by Emily and Amelia Nagoski
“You are not broken. You live in a broken system.”
Let’s start with the one book that changed how I understood my own burnout.
Burnout explains that stress isn’t just emotional — it’s physical. And when we don’t finish the “stress cycle” (which most moms don’t), it builds up in our bodies like toxic residue. That’s when the fatigue, anxiety, and emotional numbness start to take over.
The Nagoski sisters — one a scientist, the other a conductor — break it down in simple, compassionate language. They explain why rest isn’t optional, why “self-care” isn’t indulgent, and how to physically move burnout through your body even when you don’t have time for a spa day.
This book helped me stop blaming myself for feeling depleted — and gave me real tools to get out of it.
2. “Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year” by Anne Lamott
“There are really places in your heart that you don’t know exist until you love a child.”
If you’re deep in the early years — diapers, night feeds, milk-stained everything — and feel like you’re losing your mind, Operating Instructions will feel like a hug from someone who’s been there.
Anne Lamott is brutally honest, wildly funny, and unafraid to talk about how hard early motherhood can be. Her writing is full of doubt, spiritual confusion, belly laughs, and tiny sacred moments. She never pretends to be perfect — which is why you’ll want to underline every other sentence.
Reading this felt like sitting on a messy couch with a friend who gets it. Not just the physical exhaustion — the emotional unraveling, the guilt, the aching love. It reminded me that chaos doesn’t mean I’m failing. It means I’m living something real.
3. “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brené Brown
“No amount of self-improvement can make up for a lack of self-acceptance.”
Brené Brown is like the therapist you didn’t know you needed. In The Gifts of Imperfection, she walks you through ten guideposts for living what she calls a “wholehearted life.”
And before you roll your eyes — no, it’s not fluffy. It’s deep, research-backed, and filled with moments that make you stop and think, Oh… that’s me.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re failing at motherhood because you’re not doing enough, being enough, or handling it all with grace — Brené will gently help you see that your imperfection isn’t the problem. It’s your doorway back to connection.
This book helped me forgive myself for being human, messy, and overwhelmed. It taught me how to belong to myself again — even when everything else felt out of control.
4. “Motherwhelmed” by Beth Berry
“You’re not broken, Mama. You’re awakening.”
This book doesn’t sugarcoat the experience of modern motherhood. Motherwhelmed is a revolutionary, compassionate look at why so many moms are drowning — not because we’re weak, but because the culture we live in is unsustainable for caregiving.
Beth Berry validates the rage, grief, and disconnection so many mothers feel — and then offers a path toward healing. Not by doing more. But by unlearning the myth that we have to do it all, all the time, with a smile.
This book made me cry in the best way. It reminded me that I’m not “too emotional,” “too tired,” or “not trying hard enough.” I’m just a woman trying to mother in a world that doesn’t support mothers.
And that’s not my fault.
Motherwhelmed: Challenging Norms, Untangling Truths, and Restoring Our Worth to the World
New starting from: 16.95
Go to Amazon5. “Untamed” by Glennon Doyle
“When a woman finally learns that pleasing the world is impossible, she becomes free to learn how to please herself.”
You’ve likely heard of this one — but if you’ve never actually read it (or read it half-asleep during nap time), it’s worth circling back to.
Untamed is part memoir, part manifesto. Glennon writes about how she stopped trying to fit into what the world told her a woman — and a mother — should be. It’s fierce, poetic, and electric with truth.
But what makes it perfect for exhausted moms? She doesn’t shame you for being lost. She reminds you that the part of you who knows — who remembers — is still in there.
Reading this book made me brave again. Brave enough to ask: “What do I want?” Not just as a mom. As a whole human.
Untamed: Reese's Book Club
- Author: Glennon Doyle.Glennon Doyle Melton.
- Publisher: The Dial Press
- Pages: 352
List Price :
Offer: 11.52
Go to Amazon6. “I Miss You When I Blink” by Mary Laura Philpott
“Sometimes you’re in the right life, but it still feels wrong.”
This is a memoir in essays by a woman who seemingly had it all — a good career, a loving family, a house in the suburbs — and still felt… off.
Mary Laura Philpott’s writing is funny, sharp, and painfully honest. She captures that sneaky kind of burnout that doesn’t come from crisis, but from quiet erosion. The slow disappearance of your own wants, thoughts, and identity beneath the layers of responsibility.
If you’ve ever looked at your life and thought, Why does everything feel so heavy when nothing is technically wrong? — this book will feel like a mirror.
It’s not a dramatic self-help book. It’s a soul-soothing reminder that it’s okay to want more — even if you love what you already have.
7. “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert
“A creative life is an amplified life.”
This one’s for the mom who used to write poetry. Or sing. Or take photos. Or journal. Or dance in the kitchen. And hasn’t done any of those things in months… maybe years.
Big Magic is Elizabeth Gilbert’s love letter to creativity — not for productivity or career, but for soul survival.
Motherhood can flatten your world into logistics and lists. Big Magic reawakens your inner artist, your daydreamer, your sparkle. It dares you to make space for creativity just because. Not because it’s useful. Because it’s you.
This book didn’t tell me to go start a business or write a novel. It whispered, “Pick up the pen. Make something small. You’re allowed.”
Final Thoughts: You’re Not Lazy. You’re Carrying Too Much.
Mama, hear me:
You’re not broken. You’re not lazy. You’re not dramatic.
You’re just exhausted — in a world that asks too much and gives too little in return.
But even in burnout, there is a path back to yourself. It doesn’t have to be fast. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be honest.
Let one of these books be your first step. Not because it’ll fix everything. But because the right words can begin to heal the part of you that thought no one else understood.
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🛍️ Recap: 7 Books That Helped Me Feel Human Again
- Burnout – Emily & Amelia Nagoski
- Operating Instructions – Anne Lamott
- The Gifts of Imperfection – Brené Brown
- Motherwhelmed – Beth Berry
- Untamed – Glennon Doyle
- I Miss You When I Blink – Mary Laura Philpott
- Big Magic – Elizabeth Gilbert
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