When Good Moms Feel Bad: An Empowering Guide for Transforming Guilt, Anxiety, and Anger into Compassion, Confidence, and Connectedness

by Jessica Tomich Sorci, Rebecca Geshuri

“This is a brilliant adaptation of the IFS model of therapy; addressing ‘Mom Parts’ is a groundbreaking way to help mothers improve their mental health. When Good Moms Feel Bad is a must-read.”
—Richard Schwartz, PhD, creator of Internal Family Systems and author of No Bad Parts

Moms have it hard; whether it's ingrained beliefs, the pressures of everything from social expectations to social media, or their own childhood wounds, even the best moms can feel like they are flailing—and failing. Psychotherapists and moms Jessica Tomich Sorci and Rebecca Geshuri see this every day in their practices. With compassion, humor and paradoxical wisdom, Tomich Sorci and Geshuri address difficult and often suppressed emotions such fear, anger, guilt, disappointment, ambivalence, and the shame and grief that ubiquitously accompany motherhood. In the first book applying Internal Family Systems to motherhood, they share their revelatory adaptation of IFS to validate these feelings, helping moms to accept and work through them. Introducing the concept of “parts” as well as the techniques of unblending (separating from reactions and recognizing them as parts) and befriending (bringing warmth and curiosity to individual parts), Tomich Sorci and Geshuri’s simple and practical program offers a way for any mom anywhere to identify her pain points, make sense of her distress—and begin to find relief.

Audible Audio

Published February 3, 2026

About the author

Jessica Tomich Sorci LMFT PMH-C

Reviews

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an IFS informed therapist, I highly recommend this book if working with and/or for mothers. To be able to conceptualize one's parts through lived roles and experiences can be so powerful. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Christine Lakin narrate, she brought forth connectivity, expression, and realness that was not only pleasing to listen to but also impactful. I appreciate the journal prompts, repetition (which I feel like consistent within therapy sessions), exploration through worksheet opportunities, and stories from mothers. Now all the authors need to do is create the same type of book for fathers!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audio

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a good use of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model! This whole model is very intuitive to me and applying it this way works for my brain. The idea of having an Inner Mom persona definitely works for those of us who have kids but could also resonate with anyone who feels that compassionate energy towards any others.

I really enjoyed how Christine Lakin narrated this book. She was very conversational and easy to listen to.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Hachette Audio for an ALC of this book! This is my honest review.

[Becca]

I’m dnfing this book today March 1 at 60% through.
I gave it about six weeks and just wasn’t hooked. A few things that really stood out to prevent my finishing. #1 an audiobook on parenting/motherhood should be appropriate to listen to around my children and this one had numerous curse words throughout. #2. I didn’t like how it waited so long to tell the actual parts. Anyway, maybe I’ll try some other time in a different format, but this just didn’t work for me now.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was more analytical/philosophical than I was expecting but I did appreciate the intent to help moms learn how to feel less shame and guilt about their perceived failures and the suggested tips to lean into more acts of self-care. Okay on audio and recommended for fans of books like Honest Motherhood by Libby Ward or Balance the bullshit by Kendra Swalls. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Ari (ariannasreading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice use of IFS model. I found some parts to be very validating and relatable while others felt more touchy-feely than practical. Overall, a good read.