I only got about halfway in this one before I got bored. Will try again some other time. Enjoyed the premise.

Every mother has their own story, but I overwhelmingly felt while I listened to this that the author had been dealt such a bad hand. It felt like every part of her pregnancies, births, etc. was extremely difficult. Entire chapters felt like they detailed her inability to stop crying. I found myself wondering why someone who went through so many terrible experiences would choose to have more children. This was not the book for me, and not the book I expected it to be. If I had listened to this before choosing to have a child or while I was pregnant, it would have terrified me.
I wasn't a huge fan of the narration/narrator's voice either.

Great narration that fits the author's voice & keeps you listening as she cycles through anecdotal stories. I fully appreciated the trigger warnings and as a mother, found there were Several moments that I needed to pause and return to this later. Would recommend and a great reminder that we aren't alone!

This felt like listening to a friend who’s just being real about how tough motherhood can be. Danielle’s stories—NICU stays, feeding struggles, the mental load—were honest, emotional, and super relatable. She doesn’t pretend to have it all figured out, which made it so comforting to hear. I loved how she tied in her experience with eating disorders too—it added another layer of honesty and strength. A few parts circled back to the same ideas, but honestly, it didn’t bother me much. It’s one of those audiobooks that makes you feel less alone and reminds you you’re doing better than you think.

It wasn't really clear if this book was meant to be a memoir or some sort of self-help book and in that way, it felt as though there was a huge identity crisis going on. Danielle wrote with vulnerability and honestly, it just didn't resonate across the board.

Thanks Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Mothers Are Made is a balm for the weary, a hand to hold in the quiet chaos of motherhood. Danielle Sherman-Lazar doesn’t sugarcoat the journey—she honors it. Through raw honesty, gentle wisdom, and a voice that feels like it’s coming from across the kitchen table, she reminds us that becoming a mother is not an instant title—it’s a transformation.

Listening to the audiobook feels like having a candid conversation with a trusted friend. Sherman-Lazar’s narration brings extra warmth and authenticity to the stories, making every word land a little deeper. It’s not just a book—it’s a breath. A cry. A laugh. A truth.

For any mama who’s ever felt overwhelmed, unseen, or unsure—this one’s for you. Because, as the title so beautifully says, mothers are made—and this audiobook honors every step of that making.

Mothers Are Made is a book with an identity crisis. It is part-memoir, part self-help, and a whole lot of platitudes sprinkled EVERYWHERE. As a mom and perinatal therapist I really wanted to like this book, but I found it really off-putting for different reasons. The first thing that really bothered me was Danielle Sherman-Lazar's first chapter in which she detailed waiting for a positive pregnancy test with a 9 month old baby. I had to re-listen to this about four times because I couldn't believe what she was saying. Sherman-Lazar claimed to be trying to get pregnant for the past 6 months, with 5 months of being on Clomid - an infertility drug that stimulates ovulation. This experience somehow gives the author claim to infertility. This was absolutely infuriating to me. If we do some basic math - you are cleared for sex at 6 weeks postpartum, your daughter is 9 months old... there is a max of two cycles you could have gotten pregnant before your doctor prescribed an infertility drug! Most women will not get their period for months postpartum, especially when breastfeeding. Even if menstruation resumes, it doesn't always mean ovulation has resumed normally. If you know anything about pregnancy and postpartum, your hormones rise and then fall off a cliff after giving birth and you need to physically recover from that. It is absolutely insane that any doctor would promote getting pregnant so soon after a first pregnancy while a mom is still nursing and her hormones are out of whack. I hate that any woman would read this and think this is somehow normal or what a doctor would do. The author seemingly acknowledges her privilege of getting pregnant after two months of trying with her first daughter, while also taking a badge in the infertility department for her second pregnancy. Gross.

The second biggest issues I had with the book was there were way too many platitudes throughout. I found it disingenuous and annoying. The author attempts to validate every different type of mom - adoption, NICU, working, SAHM, infertility, yada yada. It got old very quickly to me. It was a very "you can mom however you want!" "you're doing great, mama!" type of vibe throughout that I felt did nothing for me as a reader. I especially hated the normalization of anti-depressants and the erroneous t0ughting of having a chemical imbalance. How many times are people going to regurgitate this lie until a publisher or god-forbid the actual author does some research that shows this is not true?

Typical for me, I looked the author up after finishing the book and was not surprised to see she has a large social media following where she is a sort of mental health advocate. Although I enjoy reading stories of others mom's experiences, I would not recommend this book to friends or clients. The author is privileged beyond the means of any normal person - staying at home with 4 children in NYC/New York? Going to the Upper East Side for classes? There was also repeated references to the author's eating disorder, which I think would be very triggering. It really emphasized the identity crisis of the book. None of the stories were told linearly, forcing readers to try to remember the birth order of the author's four children, and popping back and forth between early motherhood and navigating subsequent pregnancies. This is one of those books where the author certainly has had some challenging life experiences, which many can find helpful to read about, but the delivery of the stories was convoluted and the overall story feels lost in trying to be inclusive to every type of issue a mom can have (infertility, NICU stay, difficulty breastfeeding, etc.).

The narration provided by Tanya Eby was sufficient, if a bit monotone. Perhaps she too was not as invested in the subject material, much like myself.

Thank you to NetGalley, Spotify Audiobooks, the author Danielle Sherman-Lazar, and the narrator Tanya Eby for an ALC of Mothers Are Made in exchange for an honest review!

“Mothers are made through time and experience” For mothers, new and seasoned. A beautiful reminder of how to be kind to ourselves and to lean on our village when needed. Well-written, the author manages to make us smile, laugh and cry with her. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me the audiobook ARC. It was a great read and perfect timing to give me gentle reminders as I enter this new season of motherhood with my imminent return to work and baby’s transition to daycare.

PS. Please read the trigger warnings before reading.

This was a beautiful memoir. The authors vulnerability and frankness are exactly what new mothers need to hear in order to not feel so alone in their journey. Motherhood is the most transformative experience a female can go through. Too often moms do not talk about the struggles in fear that they will seem like a “bad mom”. This book helps so much with that stigma. I will be buying copies for all my mom friends!

This was so incredibly validating and relatable without being overdone and came across as honest and raw rather than narcissistic.

This will be something I recommend to moms especially struggling in postpartum!

The narrator unfortunately sounded a bit robotic. I do speed it up to 1.5-2 but don’t usually feel this way

3.5 stars rounded down
I feel mixed about this one because there were some good and useful parts to it and some parts that seemed bad. I really enjoyed the first half. It felt a lot like memoir and less about momming issues. Thank you to the author for being so vulnerable and sharing her personal experiences.
Overall the big message is everyone is doing the best they can and stop judging other moms. Stop judging yourself too. Kids are kids and when they act like kids that’s ok. It’s important to give ourselves grace. There’s also a great section about boundaries. It’s important to put your family and your kids needs first and you shouldn’t feel guilty about it. Definitely valuable information! The author makes a point that everyone is someone’s child so after becoming a parent, you’re more compassionate towards others and extend more grace even with other adults.

The worst parts about this were about her husband. When she’s totally overwhelmed and needs a little break she just pushes through and does everything anyway. In the book, her husband is not supportive at all. (I believe that isn’t as much the case in real life after reading her acknowledgements). But she has to beg him for 10 minutes in the morning to get a shower by herself-when he finally agrees, he can’t handle breakfast with the kids and all the hot water has already been used-so she can’t even get her 10 minutes. He considers things he does as “helping”-this is triggering to me.. any man who thinks he’s helping his wife with his own kids. And when she is completely sick with strep and 102 temp, he’s too busy at work to show much care. And he can’t take a sick day from work because he needs to save those for when he is sick. She powers through when she feels horrible because “that’s what moms do.” This is a terrible message for moms. When you’re sick, get support when you can and demand more of a partnership. She’s constantly left with a pile of dishes and loads of laundry and cleaning always it’s overwhelming and the message that we need to just do it because we’d “do anything for our kids” is not healthy. Of course we would do anything for our kids. That doesn’t mean you should have to just power through and do everything yourself instead of getting the support you need and deserve.


The audio was great, loved the narrator and I would listen to more of her work.
Thanks so much to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book! I don’t know if I could recommend this unless there’s a mom who is confident enough to take the good with the bad and know the difference.