I don’t know about you, but I didn’t come into motherhood the “right way.” I showed up out of wedlock, broken down, unsure, traumatized, and scarred. For women like me, the conventional examples offer neither redemption nor road maps for transitioning from how I began to the highest possibility of what I could be. But literature does.

…Black women have used their own experiences to challenge the status quo. Their autobiographies aren't confined to individual journeys; they also illuminate broader issues like politics and societal norms.

In celebration of Women's History Month, we've curated a compelling list of books that delve into the multifaceted experiences of Infamous Mothers—crafted by them, for them, or about them.