No Wire Hangers EVER! 8 Books With The Dearest, Scariest Mommies EVER!

October 14 2014
Share No Wire Hangers EVER! 8 Books With The Dearest, Scariest Mommies EVER!

Christina Crawford’s now out-of-print book, Mommie Dearest, was once a bestseller and the actual inspiration for the film by the same name. The cult classic, starring Faye Dunaway, was the original love letter to  scariest mommies near and far.  Here, we’ve curated 8 of our favorite “Scary Mommy” books – both fiction and non-fiction.  Should we be concerned that most of these are actual true stories of some of the most frightening mothers to have ever lived?

The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose stubborn nonconformity was both their curse and their salvation. In this astonishing memoir—the basis of the forthcoming film starring Brie Larson—Walls recounts how her family’s dysfunction left her and her siblings to fend for themselves, weather their parents’ betrayals, and finally find the resources and will to leave home.

Read a review of THE GLASS CASTLE here.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo
The Glass Castle
Jeannette Walls

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose stubborn nonconformity was both their curse and their salvation. In this astonishing memoir—the basis of the forthcoming film starring Brie Larson—Walls recounts how her family’s dysfunction left her and her siblings to fend for themselves, weather their parents’ betrayals, and finally find the resources and will to leave home.

Read a review of THE GLASS CASTLE here.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo

MENTIONED IN:

6 Books That’ll Hook You from Line One

By Sarah Walsh | January 11, 2024

10 Books Mom Will Love This Mother’s Day

By Off the Shelf Staff | April 14, 2023

6 Beloved Books We Cherish Because of Our Mothers

By Off the Shelf Staff | May 6, 2021

Influential Fiction: 9 Popular Books Our Readers Can’t Get Enough Of

By Off the Shelf Staff | May 14, 2020

Spark Conversation At Book Club With These 9 Remarkable Reads

By Off the Shelf Staff | March 10, 2020

Our Top 20 Books from the 21st Century (So Far)

By Off the Shelf Staff | January 15, 2020

Close
Chanel Bonfire
by Wendy Lawless

In her stunning memoir, Wendy Lawless tells the often heartbreaking tale of her unconventional upbringing with an unstable alcoholic and suicidal mother—a real-life Holly Golightly turned Mommie Dearest—and the uncommon sense of resilience that allowed her to rise above it all.

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo
Chanel Bonfire
Wendy Lawless

In her stunning memoir, Wendy Lawless tells the often heartbreaking tale of her unconventional upbringing with an unstable alcoholic and suicidal mother—a real-life Holly Golightly turned Mommie Dearest—and the uncommon sense of resilience that allowed her to rise above it all.

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo

MENTIONED IN:

15 Powerful Memoirs By and About Mothers

By Erica Nelson | May 3, 2016

No Wire Hangers EVER! 8 Books With The Dearest, Scariest Mommies EVER!

By Off the Shelf Staff | October 14, 2014

My Unbelievable Childhood With A Scary Mom

By Gail Gonzales | October 14, 2014

Close
Take This Man
by Brando Skyhorse

Brando Skyhorse grew up his entire life thinking he was Native American. This farce was orchestrated by his unstable and oppressive mother, Maria, also known as 'Running Deer.' Over the course of his childhood, Brando has five fathers who come and go in dramatic and heartbreaking ways. Brando's mother, always dreaming of a more exciting life, thrives on it and just about falls apart when Brando leaves for college. It will take just over thirty years for Brando to untangle the truth of his own past, when a surprise discovery online leads him to his biological father at last.

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo
Take This Man
Brando Skyhorse

Brando Skyhorse grew up his entire life thinking he was Native American. This farce was orchestrated by his unstable and oppressive mother, Maria, also known as 'Running Deer.' Over the course of his childhood, Brando has five fathers who come and go in dramatic and heartbreaking ways. Brando's mother, always dreaming of a more exciting life, thrives on it and just about falls apart when Brando leaves for college. It will take just over thirty years for Brando to untangle the truth of his own past, when a surprise discovery online leads him to his biological father at last.

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo

MENTIONED IN:

No Wire Hangers EVER! 8 Books With The Dearest, Scariest Mommies EVER!

By Off the Shelf Staff | October 14, 2014

Close
Running With Scissors
by Augusten Burroughs

Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. So at the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor’s bizarre family, and befriending a pedophile who resided in the backyard shed. The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, and the Christmas tree stayed up all year round, where Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull an electroshock- therapy machine could provide entertainment. The funny, harrowing and bestselling account of an ordinary boy’s survival under the most extraordinary circumstances.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Running With Scissors
Augusten Burroughs

Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. So at the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor’s bizarre family, and befriending a pedophile who resided in the backyard shed. The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, and the Christmas tree stayed up all year round, where Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull an electroshock- therapy machine could provide entertainment. The funny, harrowing and bestselling account of an ordinary boy’s survival under the most extraordinary circumstances.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

Author Picks: 5 Engrossing Memoirs That Inspired Me to Write My Own Story

By Kirkland Hamill | July 29, 2020

13 Timely Books to Read During Banned Books Week

By Sarah Jane Abbott | September 25, 2017

A Childhood Memoir That’s Stranger Than Fiction

By Hilary Krutt | March 4, 2016

Chipotle’s Literary Salon: The Books Behind the Burritos

By Caitlin Kleinschmidt | March 12, 2015

Love the Madness: 7 Essential Books Starring Dysfunctional Families

By Off the Shelf Staff | November 25, 2014

No Wire Hangers EVER! 8 Books With The Dearest, Scariest Mommies EVER!

By Off the Shelf Staff | October 14, 2014

Close
Flowers in the Attic
by V.C. Andrews

They were a perfect family, golden and carefree—until a heartbreaking tragedy shattered their happiness. Now, for the sake of an inheritance that will ensure their future, the children must be hidden away out of sight, as if they never existed. Kept on the top floor of their grandmother’s vast mansion, their loving mother assures them it will be just for a little while. But as brutal days swell into agonizing months and years, Cathy, Chris, and twins Cory and Carrie realize their survival is at the mercy of their cruel and superstitious grandmother…and this cramped and helpless world may be the only one they ever know.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo
Flowers in the Attic
V.C. Andrews

They were a perfect family, golden and carefree—until a heartbreaking tragedy shattered their happiness. Now, for the sake of an inheritance that will ensure their future, the children must be hidden away out of sight, as if they never existed. Kept on the top floor of their grandmother’s vast mansion, their loving mother assures them it will be just for a little while. But as brutal days swell into agonizing months and years, Cathy, Chris, and twins Cory and Carrie realize their survival is at the mercy of their cruel and superstitious grandmother…and this cramped and helpless world may be the only one they ever know.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 Banned Books Never Leaving Our Shelves

By Off the Shelf Staff | September 23, 2019

10 Books About Siblings That’ll Make You Grateful for Your Own

By Abby Zidle | April 10, 2018

Assuming the V.C. Andrews Mantle

By Andrew Neiderman | December 22, 2016

11 Authors Whose Legacies Live On

By Amy Hendricks | May 19, 2016

Love the Madness: 7 Essential Books Starring Dysfunctional Families

By Off the Shelf Staff | November 25, 2014

No Wire Hangers EVER! 8 Books With The Dearest, Scariest Mommies EVER!

By Off the Shelf Staff | October 14, 2014

Close
Psycho
by Robert Bloch

Norman Bates loves his Mother. She has been dead for the past twenty years, or so people think. Norman knows better though. He has lived with Mother ever since leaving the hospital in the old house up on the hill above the Bates motel. One night Norman spies on a beautiful woman that checks into the hotel as she undresses. Norman can't help but spy on her. Mother is there though. She is there to protect Norman from his filthy thoughts. She is there to protect him with her butcher knife.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Psycho
Robert Bloch

Norman Bates loves his Mother. She has been dead for the past twenty years, or so people think. Norman knows better though. He has lived with Mother ever since leaving the hospital in the old house up on the hill above the Bates motel. One night Norman spies on a beautiful woman that checks into the hotel as she undresses. Norman can't help but spy on her. Mother is there though. She is there to protect Norman from his filthy thoughts. She is there to protect him with her butcher knife.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

10 Spooky Literary Locations to Spend Your Halloween

By Kerry Fiallo | October 31, 2017

No Wire Hangers EVER! 8 Books With The Dearest, Scariest Mommies EVER!

By Off the Shelf Staff | October 14, 2014

Close
A Child Called "It"
by Dave Pelzer

This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games--games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an "it."

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo
A Child Called "It"
Dave Pelzer

This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games--games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an "it."

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo

MENTIONED IN:

No Wire Hangers EVER! 8 Books With The Dearest, Scariest Mommies EVER!

By Off the Shelf Staff | October 14, 2014

Close
Carrie
by Stephen King

Margaret White is the domineering, insane, and abusive mother of Carrie White. She is fanatically religious and thinks that everything that has to do with the female body and sex is absolutely sinful! Carrie is bullied at harassed at school and seen as an outcast mainly because of her crazy mother. She has a gift though, and Carrie's powers of telekinesis are fully realized by all of her classmates at the senior prom.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Carrie
Stephen King

Carrie White may have been unfashionable and unpopular, but in the face of unbearable humiliation, her gift of telepathy is turned into a weapon of horror and destruction that her classmates would never forget. The terror of Stephen King's legendary debut novel makes for a timeless thriller.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Close

You must be logged in to add books to your shelf.

Please log in or sign up now.