This is full of so many stories that are enjoyable. You won't want to miss them, Each one is unique and its own way.

This review is for Joanne Kukanza
My thoughts
☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️

A short story,
Loss love and so much more.

Sometimes loss is just another chapter in some folks lives.

The part in this book rest in peace and leave dad alone.. well I loved that part.

Sometimes the past needs to stay in the past.
This was such a wonderful short story I truly enjoyed.

Thank you Joanne Kukanza Easley

A lovely book but some of the stories were quite dull/long. The very first story stuck with me though - it was beautiful.

The Book comes with a handy content page which has a summary of all the books. If one had this book on their shelf, it would be easy to pick it up again and hop in and out of the collection.

Soon, Hope by Sarah Branson – 4 stars
This was not a very appropriate story for my mind space (I won’t go into the details, but suffice to say it was a little bit of a tough start). A mother who recently lost a pregnancy is also a midwife and has to go out on a delivery – enough said, I would assume. People with just some empathy can imagine the conflict. The author did a good job to portray a smooth narrative.

Mother’s Last Flight by Josephine Gentileschi – 4 stars
This is a story based on historical facts (as the note at the end indicates). A female pilot uses her skills to try and evacuate herself and her child from her country torn by war (in 1945). The author brings the mother to life in a very short space of time. The urgency of the situation is painted very vividly.

Merging Identities by Lisa Fellinger – 4 stars
A mother’s conflicting thoughts about her worth outside of the role she now has. Her writing has taken a back seat and she works out the kinks in her thought process as she figures things out.

Of Fears and Beliefs by Priya Gill – 4 stars
A mother has to deal with her son’s emotions as she goes in for her cancer treatment. It is a brief look at a few days in the life of the mother, but it is enough to extrapolate the average day in their life.

A Real Family by Annie M.Ballard – 4 stars
I did not expect to enjoy this story of a conflict between a mother and a stepmother (very much the junior). The daughter they are struggling for the affections of is in the centre of it. I did like the simplicity of the conversations and how it led to clarity.

Whatever it Takes by Ginny Fite – 3 stars
I liked this less than certain others solely because the ending left me hurting. This is a personal reaction, although it does indicate the skill of a mother. It is probably a realistic scenario, and I cried at the end, but I wanted something more positive. I think this would be one of the favourites for most people. I will not go into the details of a mother’s sacrifice here, but that is what it is essentially.

Every Mother’s Peanut Butter by Shawna Rodrigues – 3 stars
This is the story of an average day in a mother’s life which is rocked by an unexpected event.

If I Tell You My Name by Pamela Stockwell – 4 stars
The story is the journey of a girl from very remote roots, who was helped by a horde of people (especially her mother) and her own determination to achieve something remarkable.

A Mother’s Influence by Leslie Kain – 3 stars
A family is torn by unsaid words, which finally come to the forefront in their latest unplanned meeting.

Motherhood: Double Exposed by Paullette Stout – 3 stars
An estranged mother-daughter duo finally face off to the things they have been keeping to themselves.

Deconstructing Mom by Joanne Kukanza Easley – 3 stars
Another story of estrangement – In this case, however, the daughter cannot speak to her mother. The scandal discussed here was a little scary to imagine!

Everything Left Unsaid by Gona Andrew – 4 stars
Although, like in the last story, the mother is no longer in the picture, the daughter finally figures out their relationship as she tries to cook for her own daughter. It was quite heartwarming.

In a Nutshell: Loved this anthology of stories pertaining to mothers and motherhood. You don’t need to be a mother to love it.

"There's no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one." - Jill Churchill
The above quote sets off this anthology of twelve stories, all of which are about mothers. You might assume that such a theme would get repetitive too soon. Yes, there were certain themes in common, primarily connected to love (or the lack thereof.) Regardless, each story still feels distinct from each other in terms of content and hence the book doesn’t get boring.

A good short story for me is one that keeps me invested from start to end regardless of its length. And this is what happened to me for most of the stories in this collection. The tales aren’t limited to stories about pregnancy or new motherhood. Rather, we get to see single mothers and stepmothers, dedicated mothers and disgruntled mothers, contemporary mothers and historical mothers, almost-mothers and no-more-mothers.

A detailed informative note about the authors is present at the end of their respective stories. I always appreciate this as we get to know the author better right after we experience their writing.

Did I enjoy these stories better as I am a mother? Quite possible. But the beauty of the storytelling is such that the themes are universal. Replace the mother character with a father or a sister, and you might still experience the same emotions. Moreover, we might not all be moms but we do have/have had moms. The appeal is therefore universal.

As always I rated the stories individually, and quite a few of them left a strong mark. In fact, I didn’t outright hate any story. The only ones that didn’t work too well for me were either heavily conversation-dominated, or were somewhat stereotypical in their content.

My top favourites were the below, each with 4.5 stars or more:
Soon, Hope - Sarah Branson – 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 - How a woman continues working as a midwife despite suffering through a miscarriage. Poignant. The only reason this wasn’t a straight 5 star is that it seemed to have some unusual word choices that weren’t explained.
Mother's Last Flight - Josephine Gentileschi - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 – A WWII story set around a German woman pilot torn between her duty and her motherhood. Loved the author's note at the end of the story. First time I've seen such a detailed note for a short fiction.
If I Tell You My Name - Pamela Stockwell - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 – How a girl reaches new heights of achievement, thanks to the strong support of her mother. Captivating all the way.
Everything Left Unsaid - Gina Andrew - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 – The last story of the book and my absolute favourite. Highlights different love languages between mothers and daughters.

Definitely recommended to short story lovers looking for a touching feel-good collection dedicated to mothers. This anthology would also make a wonderful gift to any book-loving mom.

3.85 stars, based on the average of my rating for each story.

My thanks to Writer G.G. Andrew LLC and NetGalley for the DRC of “A Million Ways: Stories of Motherhood”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Content warning: Miscarriage, death.

I love this book! Each short story about a woman's experience in life is powerful. Stories include an woman who has a six-year-old son and is diagnosed with breast cancer, a woman who was a pilot in World War II, an aspiring writer, and many, many more. It was a breath of fresh air to read a book like this. I highly recommend.

A lovely anthology about motherhood from some of my favorite authors: will appeal to all readers who are mothers, have mothers, or wish they were mothers. Do yourself a favor and grab this book.

Several short stories of motherhood, varying from stay at moms, working moms, to antagonist, and feminist. Some were good, some were okay and some , needed to be skimmed over .I did enjoy finding some new authors to look into later on .

This collection of short stories puts the experience of motherhood in a crystal vase, offering a precisely drawn view from every angle. Each piece brings its own perspective, guiding the reader along a journey through the myriad of emotions we can all relate to in some way or another - hope, heartache, inner and outer conflict, loss, healing, and the unbreakable ties that bind us all. Mothers and children of all stripes will find resonance in these pages.

I love short stories, and so I greatly enjoyed this collection centered around the theme of motherhood. Since this is an anthology, the collection was a nice mix of writing styles and stories with varying geographical settings and a wide age range – but all touching upon the joys, tribulations and complexities of motherhood.

One young woman miscalculates the difficulties involved in becoming a stepmother to her new husband’s two children, and the pain she’ll experience being on the receiving end of the ex’s animosity. A young mother grapples with her cancer diagnosis and treatments – all while praying she’ll have the privilege of watching her young son grow up. A young girl from a poor, rural hillbilly family channels her mother’s support and pride to aim for seemingly impossible goals.

These and the other engaging stories in this collection are a beautiful tribute to motherhood.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy - all thoughts are my own.

“There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.”

This collection of short stories covers a range of complexities and nuances related to mother-child relationships and how those relationships and perspectives on those relationships can change over time. The stories are a nice length for easy reading. An array of types of relationships are included although a theme of feeling unloved or under-loved was common.

A Million Ways: Stories of Motherhood is a truly good book. Twelve stories are all about different types of motherhood. Some were sweet, some almost heart-breaking.I found there are parts of all mothers. Brilliantly done.

A Million Ways: Stories of Motherhood is a wonderful book that has twelve different stories, each uniquely written by a different author. Each story is different but they will pull at your heart strings, make you shed a tear or two and make you laugh, sometimes all at the same time! A wonderful tribute to all Mother’s and should be read by all. Simply BEAUTIFUL!

Thank you NetGalley, G.G. Andrew and all the authors for this extraordinary book to read and review. The opinions expressed are my own.
#netgalley #ggandrew #amillionways:storiesofmotherhood #ginaandrew #anniemballard #sarahbranson
#joannekukanzeasley #ginnyfite #lisafellinger #priyagill #lesliekain #shawnarodrigues #pamelastockwell
#paulettestout. #josephinegentileschi

12 stories that tell the story of motherhood. All so different touching on every aspect of motherhood, from losses to happiness to all the struggles in between. It depicted motherhood perfectly as everyone's journey is so different. Well worth the read and each story is only about 25mins long!

I have been a big fan of collections lately and this one about motherhood fits right in to my genre of desire! Motherhood! The authors are intelligent and have crafted entertaining stories for the reader. Five stars! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.