Mother of All Myths: How Society Moulds and Constrains Mothers by Aminatta Forna (HarperCollins, £7.99 in UK)

This contribution to the great motherhood debate cannot be read alone - it is too full of those "Oh my God! I never knew that…

This contribution to the great motherhood debate cannot be read alone - it is too full of those "Oh my God! I never knew that before" moments which just call out to be shared. Forna, who has no children, was brought up in Britain by a Scottish mother and in Sierra Leone by her father and his wife, whom she also viewed as her mother. This multicultural background puts the Independent on Sun- day journalist in an ideal position to expose our Western socially-constructed notions of motherhood, which are used to control women by guilt and scape-goating. A fascinating explanation of the history and conflicting scientific evidence behind the myths of modern motherhood, this book could liberate childless women, pregnant women and mothers - and men - from the straitjacket of "supermom," and Forna's blueprint for a new family unit based on the realities of modern life could possibly save the family from self-destruction.

Sarah Marriott