Being a solo parent is definitely not without its challenges. Besides being responsible for one’s children, one also has to deal with “issues” like child support and custody rights, co-parenting with your child’s father, knowing when and how to apply for parental leave, finding a support group that can help you out and even (gasp!) getting back onto the dating field. No wonder solo moms get stressed out more easily than moms who have their kids’ dads by their side to share the parenting load!
(Read related stories: According to the Law: Is Parental Leave a Benefit on Top of Other Leaves?; The Challenges of being a Solo Parent; Single Moms And Weekend Dads: A Guide to Peaceful Co-Parenting; Gone Solo: 5 Support Groups and Resources for Solo Parents)
To help breathe some inspiration and encouragement into every single mom’s life, here are some books we recommend:
1. The Single Mother’s Survival Guide
Author: Patrice Karst
Available in Paperback edition on Amazon.com
Patrice Karst is a single mother who shares her journey of self-discovery, while dispensing useful advice along the way. She writes about a wide range of topics that concern the single mother, and focuses on “triumphing in” rather than just “surviving” the journey. Her book includes many “survival checklists,” and is a rich source of practical wisdom and inspiration for the single mom.
2. Tony Evans Speaks Out on Single Parenting
Author: Tony Evans
Available in Kindle edition on Amazon.com
Dr. Tony Evans, a well-known pastor, teacher, author and speaker in the US, shows through his book that God has a “system” to ensure that one’s needs — even as a single parent — are met. In his book, Dr. Evans also enumerates the numerous places in the Bible that show God’s compassion for single parents.
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3. Holding Her Head High: 12 Single Mothers Who Championed Their Children and Changed History
Author: Janine Turner
Available in Kindle edition on Amazon.com
Janine Turner, a multi-nominated Hollywood actress and a single mom herself, wrote this book based on the stories of twelve women from the Roman Empire through the Middle Ages to Pioneer days, all of whom found ways to turn their fates and discover God’s plan for their lives.
Among the women featured are Rachel Lavein, the abandoned single mother of Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America; Abagail Adams, a wartime widow; Harriet Jacobs, an unwed mother who was a slave and whose autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, was published the year the American Civil War began; and widowed Belva Lockwood, the first woman to officially run for U.S. President.
4. My Single Mom Life: Stories & Practical Lessons for Your Journey
Author: Angela Thomas
Available in Kindle edition on Amazon.com
Angela Thomas shares her experiences as a single mother with four children and how her faith in God deepened as a result. She provides encouragement to other solo moms and shares her lessons on parenting, loneliness, dating and finances.
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5. God Loves Single Moms: Practical Help for Finding Confidence, Strength, and Hope
Author: Teresa Whitehurst
Available in Kindle edition on Amazon.com
More than being a psychologist, Whitehurst is also a single mom herself. Through her book, she shares tips, strategies and ways to improve one’s personal wellbeing, and that of one’s children, too. It also covers topics such as self-care, finding a support network, being organized, finances, discipline, and more.
6. Raising Great Kids on Your Own: A Guide and Companion for Every Single Parent
Authors: David and Lisa Frisbie
Available in Kindle edition on Amazon.com
Drawing from their twenty years’ experience of counseling single parents, David and Lisa Frisbie give sound practical advice on how single moms (and dads!) can “nourish their own souls,” “nurture their children,” “manage their households” and “build a future they can enjoy.” The authors have also included a list of useful resources for single parents.
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7. Help! I’m Raising My Children Alone
Author: T.D. Jakes
Available in Kindle edition on Amazon.com
New York Times bestselling Christian author T.D. Jakes teaches single parents to “be let loose” from the “perils and pitfalls of living in a broken home.”
Being raised by a solo parent himself, Jakes shares profound biblical wisdom on how to raise children in a solo parent home. He also provides interactive parent/child activities at the end of each chapter, so as to help parents strengthen their bonds with their children and, hopefully, start the process of healing, too.
8. Overwhelmed: The Life of a Single Mom
Author: Jennifer Barnes Maggio
Available in Kindle edition on Amazon.com
Jennifer Maggio is an award-winning author and speaker, and founder of The Life of a Single Mom Ministries, one of the fastest growing non-profit organizations in the US, specifically aimed at equipping churches on how to minister to single moms.
Overwhelmed is her first book and chronicles her inspiring journey through homelessness, abuse, the death of both her parents, and multiple unplanned teen pregnancies — to her “success” as a corporate executive and as one of the US’s leading authorities on single parent issues.
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9. Financial Relief for Single Parents: A Proven Plan for Achieving the Seemingly Impossible
Author: Brenda Armstrong (Foreword by Dave Ramsey)
Available in Kindle edition on Amazon.com
Most single parents, especially moms, will attest to the fact that raising children “solo” is definitely challenging, including financially. Brenda Armstrong takes her own experiences as a single mom who “turned her situation around” — including in the financial aspect — and helps put other solo parents on a better financial path. She also combines practical biblical principles and tried-and-tested steps to help solo parents be financially free.
10. The Successful Single Mom
Author: Honoree CorpronCorder
Available in Kindle edition on Amazon.com
Honoree CorpronCorder is a former business coach and single mom, who provides other single moms the tools they will need to move in the direction they want to go, whether physically or professionally. Single moms will also learn how to create a support system, develop a vision and improve their attitude.
Note: All the books noted are also available in Paperback edition on Amazon.com. Availability in local bookstores is not guaranteed. It is advised that you inquire at the bookstore nearest you first.
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