A day for more than celebration

After all the hugs, gifts and gustatory pleasures of Mother’s Day,

there’s plenty food for thought in books about some of the most

complex relationships of our lives.

Long after they’ve stopped being children, celebrities reminisce

about the women who raised them in “I Love You, Mom!” Collected by

Kelly Ripa of “Live With Regis and Kelly” fame, their stories reveal

gratitude for emotional support after bad haircuts and prom

disasters, as well as more serious traumas. From such luminaries as

Sally Jesse Raphael, Diane Sawyer and Carole Black, find words of

appreciation for moms who buffered adversity and helped shape dreams

in this inspired treasury.

For those just beginning the parental journey, Lauren Slater

shares her internal debate about having a child in “Love Works Like

This: Moving from One Kind of Life to Another.” In diary-like format,

she charts the physical and emotional course of a pregnancy

complicated by bipolar disorder.

Kathleen A. Kendall-Tacket further dispels the myth that

motherhood is an instinctive, always joyful endeavor in “The Hidden

Feelings of Motherhood.” Subtitled “Coping with Stress, Depression,

and Burnout,” her treatise about the ambivalence new mothers

sometimes experience focuses on overcoming anger, feelings of being

trapped, and diminished intimacy with a partner.

New moms will find additional insight into gaps left by

child-rearing books in “A Life’s Work.” With unsentimental honesty,

Rachel Cusk captures the conflict between the pleasures known before

Baby and those that Baby brings.

When Mom returns to work, conflicts can multiply -- a dilemma

outlined in “The Third Shift.” Combining her experience as a working

mother with those of more than 100 Silicon Valley professionals,

Michele Kremen Bolton analyzes women’s anxieties about balancing

career, home and personal autonomy, and offers constructive

encouragement for listening to an inner voice.

No relationship has the capacity to be more fulfilling or

frustrating than that of mother and daughter, psychologist Martha

Manning says. For those looking to heal or enrich it, she offers

tools to build stronger ties in “The Common Thread: Mothers and

Daughters.”

While daughters may never outgrow the bond with Mom, sons can find

a source of confidence, toughness and resilience in her, says Bonnie

Angelo, author of “First Mothers.” With portraits of 11 women who

gave birth to 20th-century presidents, the Time magazine writer gives

new meaning to being a “mama’s boy.” In a highly readable volume, she

shows how chief executives from Franklin Roosevelt to Bill Clinton

were devoted to their mothers, and how presidents can be made, as

well as born, by women like those we celebrate today.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams in collaboration with

Debbie Walker. All titles may be reserved from home or office

computers by accessing the catalog at www.newportbeachlibrary.org.