Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Letters of Note: Mothers

Rate this book
A fascinating new volume of messages about motherhood, from the author of the bestselling Letters of Note collections

TK

144 pages, Paperback

Published March 2, 2021

18 people are currently reading
266 people want to read

About the author

Shaun Usher

48 books301 followers
Shaun Usher is a writer, editor, and compulsive collector of remarkable words. He is the author of Letters of Note, an international bestseller that began life as a blog and grew into a celebrated series of books and inspired the live stage show Letters Live, which he has co-produced since 2013. He has published 16 books so far, covering everything from love and grief to music, dogs, and outer space, and in October 2025 will release his 17th, Diaries of Note: 366 Lives, One Day at a Time, a curated journey through a year’s worth of diary entries from history. He lives in Manchester with his wife, Karina, and their three children.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
75 (26%)
4 stars
110 (38%)
3 stars
87 (30%)
2 stars
9 (3%)
1 star
2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
Profile Image for Paula Mota.
1,758 reviews594 followers
August 4, 2025
#Mothering May #4

Live to the hilt! To the top. I love you, 40-year old Linda, and I love what you do, what you find, what you are! – Be your own woman. Belong to those you love. Talk to my poems and talk to your heart – I’m in both: if you need me.
- Anne Sexton à filha

No prefácio de “Letters of Note: Mothers” Shaun Usher aponta para o facto de, nestas 30 cartas que escolheu, haver um padrão: as mães escrevem aos filhos/às filhas quando eles/elas ainda estão por nascer ou ainda são muito pequenos/as, enquanto os filhos/as filhas escrevem às progenitoras quando elas estão à beira da morte ou quando esta já se consumou. Numa era em que as cartas se tornam cada vez mais um anacronismo, é bonito ver algumas extremamente recentes de bloguers, jornalistas e escritoras como a britânica Caitlin Moran, que escreveu o conjunto de conselhos mais sábios e pertinentes de sempre, que eu teria adorado receber em adolescente.

Always pick up worms off the pavement and put them on the grass. They’re having a bad day. (…) However awful, you can get through any experience if you imagine yourself, in the future, telling your friends about it as they scream, with increasing disbelief, ‘No! No!’ (…) Think of yourself as a silver rocket – use loud music as your fuel; books like maps and coordinates for how to get there.

Entre a correspondência de gente famosa como Richard Wagner, Margaret Mitchell, GK Chesterton, Sylvia Plath, Luisa May Alcott e Martin Luther King, destaco a que inclui a reprimenda que o jovem Winston Churchill, a estudar num colégio interno, recebeu da mãe devido às más notas, missiva essa enviada pela ama, já que Lady Randolph Churchill estava demasiado ocupada a organizar uma festa em Ascot.
Ainda que os sentimentos que imperem nestas missivas sejam o afecto e o pesar, há duas que destoam por completo, trocadas por Bette Davies e a filha B.D. Hyman quando esta publicou uma biografia polémica e reveladora em que não poupava a estrela de cinema. Independentemente das queixas terem ou não razão de ser, a resposta de Davies foi uma bofetada de luva branca, como seria de esperar.

The sum total of your having written this book is a glaring lack of loyalty and thanks for the very privileged life I feel you have been given. (…) I have much to quarrel about in your book. I choose to ignore most of it. But not the pathetic creature you claim I have been because of the fact that I did not play Scarlett in “Gone with the Wind”. I could have but I turned it down.

Para mim, as cartas mais avassaladoras são definitivamente as que as mães escrevem a despedir-se dos filhos porque sabem que vão morrer, como punição por supostos crimes políticos ou devido a doença, razão pela qual guardei para ler por último a de Julie Yip-Williams (nascida praticamente cega no Vietname, correndo o risco de ser eutanasiada) às filhas, um ano antes do cancro a levar. Há recomendações de ordem prática, como a marca de comida do cão e o nome do afinador do piano, que creio que só uma mulher teria a precaução de incluir, mas logo as abandona e redige um texto inspirador, com uma abnegação admirável.

You will be deprived of a mother. As your mother, I wish I could protect you from the pain. But also as your mother, I want you to feel the pain, to live it, embrace it, and then learn from it. Be stronger people because of it, for you will know that you carry my strength within you. Be more compassionate people because of it; empathize with those who suffer in their own ways. Rejoice in life and all its beauty because of it; live with special zest and zeal for me. Be grateful in a way that only someone who lost her mother so early can, in your understanding of the precariousness and preciousness of life. This is my challenge to you, my sweet girls, to take an ugly tragedy and transform it into a source of beauty, love, strength, courage, and wisdom.
Profile Image for AcademicEditor.
838 reviews31 followers
March 11, 2021
Another great collection of letters from the author of the Letters of Note website. From ancient times to modern, from famous to ordinary, from birth to death, this collection mines the feelings expressed through letters to and about mothers. For those who have lost their parent or those with a strained/dysfunctional relationship, this one might be difficult to read because it surveys the wide range of possibilities that the mother-child relationship can have. But for a gift for a mother with whom one is on good terms, this would be excellent.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
Profile Image for Chin Hwa.
174 reviews27 followers
March 28, 2026
This was gifted to me by my dear husband one Mother's day, soon after I became a mother. It is a compilation of letters between children and mothers in the last hundred years.

It has taken me a long time to read it -- I was slightly put off by one of the first letters penned by a Japanese kamikaze pilot writing a letter to his mother a few days before his death. It was rather sombre for a mum with a new baby!

Reading it now, though, has been a real treat. There are gushing notes praising mothers as well as relationships gone wrong. There is a great letter of disappointment penned by Winston Churchill's mother when he was a schoolboy. There's the letter from actress Laura Dern to her daughter on her fears for how social media is parenting her daughter -- a note for this moment. There is a moving exchange between the mother of a five-year-old girl who has a brain tumour and Mr Rogers, the famous American children's TV host whose program the dying girl loved watching.

My absolute favourite, however, was a letter by Julie Yip-Williams, who was born blind in Vietnam and died at the age of forty-two, leaving behind her husband and her two young daughters. Her life defied the odds. Her grandmother had wanted her euthanised when she was two months old. Later, she was given partial sight in an operation in America and became a Harvard-educated lawyer. Her letter is both a balm of comfort and a call to courage to her daughters to live a life that is not defeated by pain but by love and beauty. Here are some pearls she gives to her little daughters:

'My sweet babies, I do not have the answer to the questions of why, at least not now and not in this life. But I do know that there is incredible value in pain and suffering, if you allow yourself to experience it, to cry, to feel sorrow adn grief, to hurt. Walk through the fire and you will emerge on the other end, whole and stronger. I promise. You will ultimately find truth and beauty and wisdom and peace. you will understand that nothing lasts forever, not pain, or joy. You will understand that joy cannot exist without sadness. Relief cannot exist without pain. Compassion cannot exist without cruelty. Courage cannot exist without fear. Hope cannot exist without despair. Wisdom cannot exist without suffering. Gratitude cannot exist without deprevation. Paradoxes aboud in this life. Living is an exercise in navigating within them.' (p. 96)

'You will be deprived of a mother. As your mother, I wish I could protect you from the pain. But also as your mother, I want you to feel the pain, to live it, embrace it, and then learn from it. Be stronger people because of it, for you will know that you carry my strength within you. Be more compassionate people because of it; empathize with those who suffer in their own ways. rejoice in life and all its beauty because of it; live with special zest and zeal for me. Be grateful in a way that only someone who lost her mother so early can, in your understanding of the precariousness and preciousness of life. This is my challenge to you, my sweet girls, to take an ugly tragedy and transform it into a source of beauty, love, strength, courage, and wisdom.' (p. 97)

Her clear-sightedness and absolute refusal to wallow in self-pity is inspirational.

I also really enjoyed the letter by the writer Wallace Stegner to his mother. I had never heard of him before but apparently he won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and the National Book Award. The way he describes his mother reminds me of a character in Wendell Berry's novel Jayber Crow -- Mattie Chatham, a steadfast, kind woman and wife to the good-for-nothing Troy. Mattie and Troy's values clashed in ways that Wallace's parents did. It was interesting to find that Stegner had been a teacher and mentor to Wendell Berry at Stanford. Stegner expresses his love and respect for his mother, who, for the sake of her two sons, persevered with her husband's restless and reckless ways in pursuit of some enigmatic get-rich-quick dream:

'You continued to make a / home for your boys and your husband, but it was a cheerless home for you. We lived in a dozen towns and cities, three dozen neighborhoods, half a hundred houses. My brother and I kept some continuity through school adn the friends we made there, but your community was cut every few months; you lost friends and never saw them again, or got the chance to make new ones, or have a kitchen where women coudl drop in and have a cup of coffee and a chat. Too much of your time, in Great Falls, Salt Lake, Reno, Los Angeles, Long Beach, you were alone.

You believed in all the beauties and strengths and human associations of place; my father believed only in movement. You believed in a life of giving, he in a life of getting. When Cecil [her other son] died at the age of twenty-three, you did not have a single woman friend to whom you could talk, not a single family of neighbors or friends to help you bear the loss of half your loving life.' (pp. 159-60)

What is incredible is that Wallace wrote this letter to his mother fifty-five years after her death. Her memory had stayed with him all this time -- his earliest bond and first love.

This book reminded me of the incredible privilege of being a mother and having a mother.
Profile Image for Leila Barrani.
34 reviews1 follower
July 14, 2025
خواندن نامه هایی که بواسطه نقش فرزندی قادر به درک شان بودم جزو بهترین تجربه ها در کتابخوانی بود.
Profile Image for Squilvia.
376 reviews
December 8, 2022
I love all letters collection books compiled by Shaun Usher so much. There is just something strangely intimate and wonderfully honest about letter writing. All these writers took their time to write down their most private thoughts all the while having the person they addressed to close in their minds. Minutes maybe, some probably hours.

Once upon a time, the letters were delivered and read by that person and it's such a surreal feelings to think that now in 21st century, many many years later, most of the letters survived both the correspondents and receivers and now we are able to glimpse and share the emotions from both people from the future.


It's surreal. With this book in participating, you can just feel the love in most of these letters especially from a mother to their daughter. I am especially in love with the letter by Karin Cook and Halliday. Growing up, I never had a chance to know my mother better as she passed away so early. Both of these letters speak to me on personal level because of that.

Oh how I wished I could send a letter and receive one from my own mother too.

5/5 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
Profile Image for Molly.
271 reviews4 followers
March 14, 2022
I just love these collections. It feels like such a privilege to share these once private thoughts. As a new mum, I found this particular selection very poignant. Though you by no means need to be a mother to enjoy it. If you have or had a mother you loved or struggled with, if you miss your mother or never knew her, there's something here for you. Thanks to my dear friend for a lovely gift x
Profile Image for Seyma.
20 reviews3 followers
January 4, 2021
Heartbreaking, beautiful. I’m at loss for words.
466 reviews4 followers
April 30, 2024
A great idea and many interesting messages from and to mothers. The best is kept until last: the letter from Wallace Stegner to his mother is beautiful.
113 reviews1 follower
May 5, 2025
A few inspirational letters and a hilarious one (Rivers)
Profile Image for Chloe Taylor .
206 reviews38 followers
January 4, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“One has to learn how to distinguish real gold from tinsel. It is hard because tinsel sometimes glitters so dazzlingly”.

In Letters of Note: Mothers, Shaun Usher gathers together exceptional missives by and to mothers, celebrating the joy and grief, humour and frustration, wisdom and sacrifice the role brings to both parent and child.

This is a short collection of letters written to individuals mothers. The book discusses topics that are quite raw but is refreshing to hear. As someone who has no relationship with a mother, I found some of the letters full of wisdom and quite inspiring.

My favourite letters from the collection are:

Letter 18 - THE STORY COMES FROM WITHIN YOU Laura Dern to Jaya Dern

Letter 21 - LIVE A LIFE WORTH LIVING Julie Yip-Williams to Mia and Isabelle

Letter 27 - I LOVE HER MORE THAN ANYTHING Martha Gellhorn to Lucy Moorehead 1970

I’ve got a few more of these collections from Shaun Usher so I’m looking forward to embarking on these reads!
Profile Image for &#x1f336; peppersocks &#x1f9e6;.
1,544 reviews24 followers
May 17, 2021
Reflections and lessons learned:
Ahh, the beauty of a letter in a form of honesty from people which such deep links - the ability to convey a message without fear, debate, argument or tears. Not a safe form of course, but more often than not valued at some point. Maybe the perfect time to start this as a thing for myself too - letters for the generations above and below? Although ironically is this platform enough for future messages...?
Profile Image for Anne.
Author 5 books14 followers
April 9, 2021
I started this collection with a lot of doubts and even wanted to DNF it after the first few letters. In the end, I am so glad I kept on listening to the audiobook.
This is a beautiful collection of letters, full of love, life, hope and pain.
I surely will check out the other collections by Shaun Usher.
Profile Image for Emma.
662 reviews5 followers
March 11, 2022
This is the second compilation of letters from Shaun Usher that I’ve read, and it was just as insightful, educational and moving as the first.

I connected to some of the letters a lot more than others, but I think that’s only natural given that this book is a sampling of the many different mother-daughter and mother-son relationships out there.
1,357 reviews2 followers
August 27, 2020
A lovely collection of letters to and from mothers, expressing their love before birth, during lifetime and after death. More letters should be sent during the lifetime to ensure what we want to say is always being said instead of later regrets. Appreciate your mums every day!
Profile Image for Rachel.
654 reviews
October 25, 2020
A lovely collection of letters written by or to mothers.
There are words of advice, biographies, regrets and thanks - some are written at the deathbed and some upon the birth of a child.
Fascinating to read with lots of nuggets of wisdom. Inspiring- I feel I should start writing letters myself.
Profile Image for Maree.
113 reviews25 followers
May 3, 2021

I enjoy Letters of Note online, and this brief anthology of letters to, from, and about mothers has a little something for everyone. History, heartbreak, humor, and lots of motherly advice are here. Write your mom a nice note today.
Profile Image for Louisa.
219 reviews
March 14, 2022
If you're wondering what the girl sobbing in Singapore airport with a green t-shirt and a glass of red wine.. It was this book. Some of these letters are emotionally spine-tingling, heart-wrenching founts of wisdom.
Profile Image for Ai-sha.
198 reviews
January 17, 2024
“Dear mother—into your Christmas stocking I have put my firstborn, knowing that you will accept it with all its faults—for grandmothers are always kind—and look upon it as an earnest of what I might do.”

Louisa May Alcott to Abby May Alcott
December 25th 1854
Profile Image for Vicky.
408 reviews2 followers
February 14, 2024
Letter writing is lovely and fast becoming a lot art, with text and email. Massive shame. I loved receiving letters from my late Mum.
Some funny, gorgeous and touching letters to mothers and from them ❤️
Profile Image for Lucy Goodfellow.
224 reviews24 followers
April 14, 2020
⭐3 Stars⭐

An emotionally compromising collection of letters able to deepen the chill of loneliness felt after the loss of a parent.
Profile Image for Nicola.
337 reviews14 followers
July 2, 2020
Worth reading for the differing views on mothers and by mothers. Not sloppy sentimentalism. Genuine correspondence. Reading the rest of the series by Shaun Usher: art, cats, love, music.
Profile Image for tisasday.
595 reviews1 follower
January 2, 2021
Really enjoyed some of the letters in this collection. They speak with a frankness about some of the most saddening things in life.
Profile Image for Catherine Jeffrey.
890 reviews6 followers
March 18, 2021
A collection of letters from mothers to their children, and from children to their mothers. Funny, sad and heartbreaking in equal measure. Which is what motherhood is like.
42 reviews2 followers
January 24, 2022
There were about 5 letters that I really enjoyed. The others I didn’t really care about. Wouldn’t recommend to friends.
Profile Image for Nets.
134 reviews3 followers
May 16, 2022
Nice audio to listen to. Letters read by different actors. Very much enjoyed
980 reviews4 followers
January 24, 2023
Sommige brieven zijn heel ontroerend, andere zijn maar mèh.
Profile Image for Caroline.
1,022 reviews7 followers
July 13, 2023
Another interesting one in the series. Well worth checking out.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews