Book · 2021 · Self-Help
Mother Hunger
How Adult Daughters Can Understand and Heal from Lost Nurturance, Protection, and Guidance
Why people recommend it
Mother Hunger by Kelly McDaniel is a psychological guide that explores the profound yearning for maternal love and the impact of compromised mother-child attachments on adult women. On an episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast, host Mel Robbins and author Kelly McDaniel delved into the core themes of the publication. McDaniel recommended that readers share the book with their therapists or coaches as a safe starting point and a practical framework for discussing trauma and facilitating healing. Robbins praised the bestselling book for inviting daughters to examine their experiences through an introspective lens from the very first pages. Throughout the discussion, the host read specific passages aloud, including an excerpt from page thirteen examining the origins of mother hunger in both well-intentioned and emotionally unavailable mothers. They also analyzed the author's observations on how enduring hope can trap women in pathological fantasies and perpetual cycles of grief. The book was highlighted as a vital resource for recognizing unhealthy attachment patterns and overcoming lifelong emotional deprivation.
Who recommended it
- Mel Robbins Discussed
- Kelly McDaniel Recommended
Mel Robbins — 3 mentions
“You know, one of the things that I love in your bestselling book, Mother Hunger, is that in the introduction, you tell readers that as you're learning about mother hunger...”
“Okay, so this is page 13. No one loves you like your mother is a section. Mother hunger, yearning for maternal love can come from well-meaning mothers who could not be there or from mothers who were there and wanted to love but did not have the proper infrastructure for attachment programmed into their own psyches.”
“You know, one other thing that you write here, daughters of compromised mothers cling to hope. Hope that the mother they have will become the mother they need. Enduring hope creates a pathological fantasy that keeps women trapped in cycles of disappointment and grief.”
Kelly McDaniel — 1 mention
“Well, first, one of the safest places is to try a coach or a therapist and give them the book. If they don't already have it, give it to them. Say, 'I need a place to talk about this.' And if they're unwilling to do it, that's not who you want to talk to.”
Other mentions (3: passing, ad reads, own books)
“She's also the best-selling author of the book Mother Hunger.”
“Well, I think it's difficult to look with fresh eyes if we read this book as a parenting manual. So, if any of you out there, if you're a mom, it the tendency to pick up this book and start to examine how you've been a mother or are a mother is is ripe. And we don't that's not why”
“Yeah, you may notice in the book I don't really use the word eating disorder because I think that clinical term has created a whole movement about how we treat eating disorders. Okay, that I found after working every woman I work with has has some form of food trouble.”