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When we asked writers to recommend books to give to mothers (or mothers-to-be) on Mother’s Day, Erma Bombeck’s timeless works (not surprisingly) topped the list.

“Just read the newsletter about what books readers would recommend for moms, and it brought me back to shortly after our first son was born more than 50 years ago. I was a new mom who knew NOTHING about babies. Everything ours did stunned and surprised me and left me feeling helpless,” wrote Lynn Colwell, author of Erma Bombeck: Writer and Humorist, the only authorized biography of the late humor columnist.

“Erma’s book, I Lost Everything in the Postnatal Depression, found its way to me like a gift from God. Reading it was doubtless the first time in months I had laughed. And laughter, I discovered in that time I felt completely powerless, even stupid, was what I needed more than anything else because there no instruction book on how to handle my own emotions around this needy scrap of humanity. Give me laughter over a therapist any day. … I credit it with saving my sanity (and maybe our marriage), and I was so happy I had the opportunity to tell Erma this when I met her,” she shared.

Kassie Ritman also suggested I Lost Everything in the (Postpartum) Depression, while Tammy Jo Johnson Sheets offered A Marriage Made in Heaven or Too Tired for an Affair: “This was her biography. Erma was so great at making you laugh at the hard times. She made you feel ok about being human. I love her books.”

Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession “saved my life with three kids under three years old. I’d hide in the bathroom and read to get the courage (and needed humor) to go on with my day,” wrote Meg Carr. “I have given this to sooo many moms.”

Others recommended Erma-esque experiences, such as MotherFreakingHood, a musical comedy making its Chicago debut May 4-June 11 at Mercury Theater. “This is a musical not a book, but it is a humor piece that only exists because I grew up reading Erma Bombeck in my mom’s Good Housekeeping magazines and eventually became a family humor columnist myself,” said Julie Dunlap, who co-wrote the hysterical romp with college roommate Sara Stotts.

Former EBWW keynoter Mary Lou Quinlan will perform The God Box, a Daughter’s Story at 7 p.m., May 11, at Villa Joseph Marie High School in Holland, Pennsylvania.  A charismatic storyteller, Quinlan has performed the show for five years in more than 100 venues around the U.S., including Off-Broadway, as well as the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe where it earned five stars. It’s a poignant one-woman show, based on her bestselling book, about coming to terms with the death of her mother. All proceeds benefit the Catholic college-preparatory school.

Here are a few other timely gift recommendations for Mother’s Day:

The Amazing Baby Name Book: A (Possibly) Helpful and Slightly Amusing Guide from A-Z, by former EBWW keynoter Amy Ephron and her daughters, Anna and Maia.

Midlife Bites: Anyone Else Falling Apart, or Is it Just Me?, Jenn Mann’s collection of essays, empowering women to power through midlife with humor and confidence.

Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year by Anne Lamott, described by the Los Angeles Times Book Review as a “smart, funny and comforting" chronicle of single motherhood.” 

I Just Want to Pee Alone, an essay collection “by Some Kick Ass Mom Bloggers.”

What I Love about Mom Fill in the Love Book, a little book containing “fill-in-the-blank lines to describe why your mom’s the best. For moms who love to journal, how about Mom’s One Line a Day: A Five-Year Memory Book?

Need more ideas? Check out Booklyst’s “12 Great Books for Mom in 2023.

(Illustration credit: Mike Peters' cartoon is part of the Erma Bombeck Collection in the University of Dayton's Roesch Library Archives.)