Nineteen Books, One Newsletter, and the Quiet Power of the Maternal Reading List
Kelsey Haywood Lucas, co-founder of the Two Truths newsletter, read over 100 books in a single year after rediscovering reading as a hobby during motherhood. In 2025, she managed 55. Now, in early 2026, she has assembled a curated list of 19 titles spanning nonfiction, poetry, and fiction, nearly all oriented around motherhood, family, loss, and the domestic sphere. The list doubles as a reading guide and a manifesto for what Lucas believes mothers should be paying attention to right now.
The Nonfiction Picks: Policy, Toxins, and Parenting Without Apology
Lucas opens her nonfiction section with a telling editorial choice. Rather than starting with the sweeping histories or parenting manuals, she leads with Lindsay Dahl's Cleaning House: The Fight to Rid Our Homes of Toxic Chemicals, a book she loved so much she interviewed the author for the newsletter. The selection signals that Two Truths sees the personal and the political as inseparable, that what is under your kitchen sink is as worthy of investigation as what is in your workplace policy handbook.
I loved Cleaning House: The Fight to Rid Our Homes of Toxic Chemicals so much that I recently interviewed its author, advocate Lindsay Dahl, for this newsletter.
The international perspective arrives via Abigail Leonard's Four Mothers, which follows postpartum journeys across Finland, Japan, the United States, and Kenya. Lucas invokes Eve Rodsky's endorsement to frame the book as both emotionally resonant and politically urgent:
Eve Rodsky says it's "eye-opening and cathartic...a love letter to parents and a clarion call for better policy."
From there, the list moves through formula feeding advocacy (Mallory Whitmore's Bottle Service), employment law for parents (a guide from the attorney known as @themamattorney), and Elinor Cleghorn's sweeping history A Woman's Work. Lucas describes Cleghorn's book as one that traces motherhood from ancient times through the present, showcasing figures who shaped history:
In A Woman's Work: Reclaiming the Radical History of Mothering, British historian Elinor Cleghorn offers a narrative history that traces motherhood and mothering from ancient times through present day, "showcasing the mothers, othermothers, midwives, activists, community leaders, and more who have shaped the course of history."
Lucas also champions Erin Schlozman's The Myth of the Perfect Mom, calling it required reading for new parents of any gender. The framing is direct and unapologetic:
Ready to let go of impossible parenting standards? The Myth of the Perfect Mom is an invitation to embrace a more joyful, authentic postpartum.
Critics might note that the nonfiction selections lean heavily toward books by advocates and influencers rather than researchers or scholars. Several authors are introduced by their Instagram handles before their credentials. This is not necessarily a weakness, but it does raise a question about whether the reading list is curating for authority or for relatability.
Poetry as Emotional Infrastructure
The poetry section is brief but fervent. Lucas reserves her most uninhibited praise for Elise Powers's debut collection, The Size of Your Joy, and does not hold back:
"screaming/crying/throwing up (complimentary). I'm truly in awe." From the emotional gore of girlhood to the "series of soft failures, survived with love" that is early motherhood, Elise reminds us that we are never alone.
That line, "series of soft failures, survived with love," captures something essential about the Two Truths editorial sensibility. The newsletter treats motherhood as a subject worthy of literary attention, not just advice columns and product roundups. The inclusion of Alix Klingenberg's Quietly Wild and Jillian Stacia's forthcoming Set the Bone rounds out a small but purposeful poetry section that values seasonal reflection and emotional honesty.
Fiction: Time Travel, Tradwives, and Dual Points of View
The fiction recommendations are the most eclectic portion of the list. Lucas moves from Aja Gabel's Lightbreakers, a time-travel novel that she describes as fundamentally about grief and healing, to Caro Claire Burke's Yesteryear, which drops a modern influencer into the brutal reality of 1855.
It's a book about time travel that is actually a book about child loss and partnership and grief and nostalgia and healing.
The tradwife-to-pioneer pipeline is a timely premise. Lucas connects it to Jo Piazza's thriller Everyone Is Lying To You, which explored the dark side of social media influencer culture. The pairing suggests Lucas sees fiction as a vehicle for interrogating the performative aspects of modern motherhood, even when the novels themselves are genre entertainment.
Lucas also admits, with characteristic honesty, that she has no idea what one of her book club picks is actually about:
I actually have no idea what The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is about -- I just know it's a woman's life story told exclusively through letters, and many people I trust are saying it's one of the best things they've ever read.
This kind of transparency is refreshing in a recommendation list. It signals trust in her reading community over any pretense of having vetted every title exhaustively. A counterargument is that readers coming to a curated list expect the curator to have actually read the books, and recommending titles sight-unseen risks diluting the authority of the selections that Lucas clearly has read and loved.
The Commerce Layer
Every book recommendation includes links to both Amazon and Bookshop.org, and the newsletter is punctuated by sponsor mentions for Ritual supplements and Bobbie infant formula. The commercial apparatus is not hidden, which is to the newsletter's credit. Lucas and her co-founder Cassie Shortsleeve frame the paid subscription as supporting independent journalism that centers women and motherhood, and at less than five dollars a month, the ask is modest.
Still, the line between editorial recommendation and sponsored content can blur. When Lucas mentions that she interviewed the author of Cleaning House for the newsletter, it reads as genuine enthusiasm. When she describes Bobbie formula as something her co-founder used to feed her own babies, it reads as disclosure. The newsletter handles this balance more gracefully than most, but the sheer density of affiliate links and sponsor callouts across a single issue is worth noting.
The Bigger Picture: Who This List Is For
Two Truths has been named a best parenting Substack by Motherly, recommended by The Skimm, and featured in Today, Fast Company, and The Bump. The newsletter clearly has momentum. Lucas describes her own reading journey as one that began when she fell back in love with books after entering motherhood, and the list reflects that trajectory: these are books for women who are reading their way through the identity shift of parenthood.
When I fell back in love with books a few years ago -- reading as a hobby, aka purely for my personal enjoyment, for the first time since entering motherhood -- I read over 100 books in the course of a single year.
The selections skew toward books that validate and explore the maternal experience rather than challenge or complicate it from outside perspectives. There are no books here from child-free critics of natalism, no memoirs from fathers navigating custody, no sociological examinations of motherhood's role in reinforcing class structures. The list is generous and warm and deeply felt, but it operates within a defined emotional register.
Bottom Line
Lucas's list is strongest when her personal enthusiasm is palpable: the poetry that made her cry, the novel she could not put down, the nonfiction that sent her straight to the author's inbox for an interview. These moments make the list feel like a conversation with a well-read friend rather than a marketing exercise. The range across genres is a genuine strength, as is the willingness to include forthcoming titles alongside current reads, giving the list a forward-looking energy.
The list is most vulnerable where curation gives way to inclusiveness. Nineteen titles is a lot, and some entries feel underdeveloped, acknowledged by Lucas herself when she admits she has not read one of her own recommendations. The commercial infrastructure, while transparent, creates an ambient hum of monetization that can occasionally compete with the editorial voice. For readers who share Lucas's sensibility, though, this is a rich and useful guide to a year of reading about motherhood, family, and the complicated business of showing up for both.