Motherhood Audiobook By Sheila Heti cover art

Motherhood

A Novel

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free + $20 Audible credit

$8.99/mo. after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Get this deal
Offer ends on July 5, 2026 at 11:59 PT.
More purchase options

Motherhood

By: Sheila Heti
Narrated by: Sheila Heti
Get this deal

$8.99/mo. after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends July 5, 2026 at 11:59pm PT.

Buy for $14.99

Buy for $14.99

From the author of How Should a Person Be? (“one of the most talked-about books of the year”—Time Magazine) and the New York Times Bestseller Women in Clothes comes a daring audiobook about whether to have children.

In Motherhood, Sheila Heti asks what is gained and what is lost when a woman becomes a mother, treating the most consequential decision of early adulthood with the candor, originality, and humor that have won Heti international acclaim and made How Should A Person Be? required reading for a generation.

In her late thirties, when her friends are asking when they will become mothers, the narrator of Heti’s intimate and urgent audiobook considers whether she will do so at all. In a narrative spanning several years, casting among the influence of her peers, partner, and her duties to her forbearers, she struggles to make a wise and moral choice. After seeking guidance from philosophy, her body, mysticism, and chance, she discovers her answer much closer to home.

Motherhood is a courageous, keenly felt, and starkly original audiobook that will surely spark lively conversations about womanhood, parenthood, and about how—and for whom—to live.

Biographical Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction World Literature Biography Witty
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
Honest Reflections • Literary Masterpiece • Complex Emotions • Unique Perspective • Relatable Content

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
As a woman who also does not have children, this writer is very honest about the myriad of feelings and thoughts that can occur on the subject of motherhood. A friend recommended it to me and I liked the conversation that it sparked given that she is a mother of four. I have never read her other writings, but I was impressed (if a bit jealous) with how much permission she gave herself to be so honest and explore Said thoughts and feelings. I did not find all of the book compelling and captivating but that’s OK. I’m glad I listened to it.

I admire that she gave herself so much permission.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This is a really good book that explores a difficult question for most women in our generation. I gave the story four stars because I craved more depth in the perspectives of other women in same age. I understand this is kind of the point in this book, but It made me feel too trapped inside her head at times.

Thoughts I could relate to

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

every single person who’s ever had a question they’ve turned over obsessively in their heads needs to read this. not just about motherhood, about anything. heti at her most powerful.

this book rules

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I wish I could re-listen for the first time. Sheila's words and voice cast a spell on me. A good spell. The best kind of spell.

it really was magical

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Loved the writing style and thoughtfulness. This book made me feel seen is many of my feelings and questions. However, the book lacked a real storyline and so the last third of the book flowed less for me.

Loved the writing, lacked much of a climax

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews