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The Best Spotify Audiobooks For Moms

Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance by Francesca T. Royster

Francesca T. Royster details her experience being a Black, Queer mom in Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance in a riveting way. Along with her wife Annie, Francesca adopts a little Black girl and they begin navigating what it means to choose your family. From detailing the long adoption process to understanding what it means to be a mother, Francesca examines how her experiences have allowed her to be open to something other than the traditional nuclear family.

Narrated by Sarah Palmero.

Chouette by Claire Oshetsky

Tiny knew from the moment she was pregnant with Chouette that she'd be different. She felt it throughout her pregnancy and stands correct in her assumptions when her daughter is born. She works overtime to make sure Chouette wants for nothing, but it seems like her efforts are in vain.

Convinced that she'd rather learn how to care for a child whose nature is to be free and wild, Tiny doubles down on her stance to love her unconditionally. Confronted by the knowledge her husband is trying to find a way to make Chouette as normal as possible, Tiny's love and devotion to her daughter are relentlessly tested.

Narrated by Julia Whelan.

More: Life on the Edge of Adventure and Motherhoodby Majka Burhardt

Majka Burhardt was known for going on rock and ice climbing expeditions with her husband, but her pregnancy caused her to slow down in ways she was unwilling to. Knowing that things will be different from here on out, Majka starts the process of grieving the life she had before entering motherhood.

Although she eventually goes back to work, she constantly feels torn between being there for her twins and what she used to choose without a second thought. Also, she and her husband Peter struggle to find a sense of balance with the addition of children.

It's an honest and raw look at one mother's journey as she works to understand how to navigate being a wife, mom, and working woman. Narrated by Majka Burhardt.

Honey, Baby, Mine by Laura Dern, Diane Lad and Reese Witherspoon

Laura Dern and her mother Diane Ladd peel back the layers of life, love, and more in Honey, Baby, Mine by having honest conversations. Stemming from an illness that plagued Diane's lungs, their conversations were born on the long walks that were meant to help her focus on other things. Daring to approach their conversations with open hearts and cover things that most mothers and daughters stray away from. The more Laura and her mother Diana share, the more their already close bond strengthens.

Honey, Baby, Mine is a recollection of those conversations and memories. Narrated by Laura Dern and Diane Ladd.

Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin

Although Interesting Facts About Space isn't completely about motherhood, it's an excellent listen for moms who want a break from things that talk about everything that comes with it.

Enid has an obsession with anything related to space and can share many facts about it. It's part of what moves her and keeps her going. Unfortunately, other areas of her life are all over the place. She spends most of her time listening to true crime podcasts and swiping right on dating apps that end in fruitless relationships.

Her relationship with her family is shaky at best, but she decides to be more intentional about her interactions with her half-sisters after their dad dies. It's around this time she unintentionally begins an affair and becomes paranoid that someone with violent motives is following her.

She eventually beings to realize that she has to deal with the one person she hasn't been honest with — herself.

Narrated by Natalie Naudus.

Down Came The Rain by Brooke Shields

Down Came The Rain is Brooke Shields' recollection of her postpartum experience and the depression that followed. She didn't expect to feel pure love and intense sadness after having her daughter, but those feelings came anyway. What makes this audiobook special is that Brooke speaks with clarity about how postpartum can be overlooked and implies that she hopes her story will make other moms feel less alone if they're struggling.

Narrated by Brooke Shields.

The Manicurist's Daughter by Susan Lieu

Susan Lieu takes listeners behind the scenes as she works to understand her family and how her future fits into the bigger picture. She talks about their escape from the ongoing Vietnam war in the 1980s and the way her own mother helped them transition successfully in California. Things were going well until Susan's mom unexpectedly died during a cosmetic procedure and the family forbid conversations about her.

It leads Susan down a long path of discovering how far people will go to change themselves and how no justice was brought against the surgeon who had a negative reputation with Vietnamese immigrants. Determined to find answers to her burning questions, Susan does everything she can to uncover secrets about the past. What she finds is unlike anythign she was prepared to discover.

Narrated by Susan Lieu.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Little Fires Everywhere is a chilling look at two mothers who have made choices that directly affect themselves and their children. One one side of the coin, Elena Richardson lives in the picturesque Shaker Heights with her devoted husband and their three children. She's as "by the book" as anyone can be and she relishes in the life it's afforded her.

Then there's the free-spirited Mia Warren who strikes up an uneasy friendship with Elena and even becomes her tenant along with her daughter Pearl. Somehow, Elena's children are charmed by Mia and Pearl, wanting to spend as much time with them in their own ways. It sounds perfect until it's revealed that Mia has a complicated and elusive past that even Pearl isn't 100% aware of.

Things reach a head when Mia learns that Elena's friends are trying to adopt her co-workers daughter that she felt she was unable to care for. This custody battle forces those in close proximity to deal with their internal biases about race and socioeconomic status. As Elena works to bring Mia down, her own carefully coordinated life begins to unravel and it affects her family in irreversible ways.

Narrated by Jennifer Lim.

Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman

Journalist Pamela Druckerman gives birth in Paris and secret wonders how French parents are able to get their children to behave so well. She can't help but notice the glaring difference between children in France compared to the children in America as if someone has drawn an invisible line that separates the two. What she learns over time surprises her like the fact no one tells French mothers who they're supposed to model their lives after in order to be 'successful mothers.'

She learns that the French actually let their children exist as if instead of expecting them to hit every single benchmark that's expected of American children. Coupled with her notebook and curiosity, Pamela begins to investigate what helps French parents rear their children the way they do. She eventually comes to term with her own feelings about raising her child and relinquishes the idea that being a mom or child are supposed to be perfect.

Narrated by Abby Craden.

Our criteria for adding songs to this playlist was fairly simple: they feature lyrics emphasizing confidence, independence, and ambition, and they make us feel empowered whenever we listen. Womanhood is a complicated and complex thing, and with songs that span decades, generations, and genres, this playlist starts to scratch at the surface of empowered female experiences. So put in your headphones and prepare to dance around your room because these 56 picks are too good to sit still!

B+C's Favorite Female Empowerment Songs

1. Single Ladies - Beyoncé
2. Wannabe - Spice Girls
3. Rare - Selena Gomez
4. Paper Planes - M.I.A.
5. Swan Song - Saweetie, NIKI
6. S.L.U.T. - Bea Miller
7. Breadwinner - Kacey Musgraves
8. You Signed Up For This - Maisie Peters
9. Sit Still, Look Pretty - Daya
10. Most Girls - Hailee Steinfeld
11. 7 Rings - Ariana Grande
12. Truth Hurts - Lizzo
13. YES MOM - Tessa Violet
14. no tears left to cry - Ariana Grande
15. Respect - Aretha Franklin
16. Infinite - Lyn Lapid
17. You Should See Me In A Crown - Billie Eilish
18. Miss Movin’ On - Fifth Harmony
19. Umbrella - Rhianna
20. Miss Independent - Kelly Clarkson
21. Run The World (Girls) - Beyoncé
22. I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
23. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
24. Shake It Off - Taylor Swift
25. Salute - Little Mix
26. BO$ - Fifth Harmony
27. Confident - Demi Lovato
28. Sorry Not Sorry - Demi Lovato
29. Me Too - Meghan Trainor
30. Woman Like Me - Little Mix, Nicki Minaj
31. Formation - Beyoncé
32. Fancy - Iggy Azalea and Charlie XCX
33. Survivor - Destiny's Child
34. Fall In Line - Christina Aguilera and Demi Lovato
35. Good As Hell - Lizzo
36. Stronger - Britney Spears
37. Dancing On My Own - Robyn
38. Strut - The Cheetah Girls
39. Work It - Missy Elliott
40. Best Friend - Saweetie feat. Doja Cat
41. Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani
42. Just Dance - Lady Gaga/Born This Way
43. Midnight Sky - Miley Cyrus
44. Go! - Santigold
45. Bad Girls - M.I.A.
46. Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
47. Kill V. Maim - Grimes
48. Django Jane - Janelle Monae
49. Titanium - Sia
50. Bulletproof - La Roux
51. The Dog Days Are Over - Florence and the Machine
52. The Man - Taylor Swift
53. Fighter - Chrsitina Aguilara
54. Work B**ch - Britney Spears
55. Independent Women - Destiny's Child
56. Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson

Listen To Our Female Empowerment Playlist Here

​In which episode does JJ die?

JJ dies at the end of Outer Banks season 4 episode 10, "The Blue Crown" after rescuing Kiara from his father Chandler Groff. "I feel mad, betrayed, disappointed and heartbroken to say the least," Bruder adds. "JJ went through a lot of crap through the show and he was the one character who deserved his happy ending the most. When the series first came out, people fell in love with JJ and [Kiara]."

While the cast obviously found out about the ending while filming, fans are frustrated with how they chose to promote the show. "Obviously the cast can’t spoil a character death, but to blatantly lie and mislead fans by saying that Jiara was 'evergrowing' and fans would be happy with how the season plays out?" Bruder says. "Jiara fans deserved so much better than what we got, ESPECIALLY when they knew they were killing JJ off."

Why are Outer Banks fans so upset?

The show is the kind of phenomenon that made instant stars out of its cast, but it also made waves because of how the first season portrayed issues like classism, substance abuse, and domestic abuse. "As someone who has been around domestic abuse, I think the handling of the character JJ was detrimental culturally," another fan (who would like to remain anonymous) says. "The character suffered abuse at the hands of a man who was not even his biological father, and the writers almost framed it as if that was okay because in the beginning, his father loved him. Instead of telling a story to victims of abuse about hope and making it through trials, the writers went the opposite way. I also find it interesting that they stated this was a planned death. I think writing a character who is suffering from anxiety and clear mental health issues as well as abuse who is very young like JJ only to let him fall in love and kill him right when he starts to feel happiness doesn’t necessarily make a lot of sense narratively."

Another viewer adds that ending JJ's story that way felt "disrespectful...especially when in an interview following the episode, one of the creators literally referred to his death as pointless." She even says "it feels almost like the show died along with him."

Actress Madelyn Cline (Sarah Cameron) called JJ the "heart of Outer Banks"and for a lot of fans, JJ also became a beacon of hope, a reminder that you can endure, persevere, and come out stronger on the other side. Since the first season of the show dropped during April 2020, it's been one consistent, fun thing for TV fans since the COVID-19 pandemic began, which makes the loss feel even greater.

"Seeing him die at the hands of another abusive father was honestly kind of sickening," the viewer adds. "It’s also unfortunate that his death didn’t seem to mean anything. A character death like this would be one thing if it meant something. If he had died protecting his friends or actively protecting Kiara, rather than having already saved her and then getting killed afterward, it might’ve be easier to get past."

"It’s like a connection to something good and steady was just broken," X user @onlykiep4l says. "Killing a character that has literally gone trough so much trauma and was finally happy just doesn’t make sense. It’s not just the character that’s gone — it feels like a part of the show has ended too."

Why does JJ get killed off?

Rumors have been circulating for years about behind-the-scenes drama between actors Rudy Pankow and Madison Bailey, which has fans believing Rudy asked to be written off the show(for the record, Outer Banks creators Josh & Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke have said it was the plan from the beginning). With Rudy's exit, the writers had a difficult choice in front of them. JJ isn't the kind of guy to abandon his friends, meaning the writers obviously felt like killing him was the only option. But according to an additional viewer, "Outer Banks hasn't been that type of show."

"To attempt to turn this fun, summer, boat show into some dark, depressing story where the heart of the show is gone destroys everything that the show started out as," she says.

Another anonymous fan calls the choice "a character assassination," adding other moments from the season that feel like a different character than the one fans have come to love: barely reacting to John B. and Sarah's pregnancy announcement, or to the fact Rafe had come to talk to Kiara — especially after his reaction to Rafe catcalling Kie in the first season is a moment that led fans to ship them in the first place.

The fan continues by calling JJ's treatment a "lack of respect" toward the character. "The fact that the writers tried to make us dislike him, to soften the blow of him dying. It didn’t work. It has everyone distraught because many people’s favorite character ended up dying after 'finding happiness' for about 10 minutes in Episode 10."

​Does Sarah get pregnant in Outer Banks season 4?

But JJ's death isn't the only moment that has fans reeling. In addition to the fact viewers are saying the Pogues barely reacted to the death of their lifelong best friend, Pope is now a murderer and Kiara makes an absolutely chilling vow to get revenge on Groff — a far cry from the characters we fell in love with in season 1.

"Outside of the JJ of it all, a lot of plot lines/dynamics in part 2 felt off," one of our anonymous fans continues. "Sarah’s pregnancy plot line, especially when coupled with the quote from a creator about ‘giving her a baby specifically because she wasn’t ready’ feels incredibly tone deaf given the current state of things here in the US. The fact that there wasn’t even a conversation of if she wanted to continue with the pregnancy felt very icky. Overall, episodes 1-4 of this season did feel like Outer Banks, but everything after that felt like it was from an entirely different piece of media."

However, some fans are excited to see where the show goes from here. "JJ was such a strong character and his presence will obviously be missed, [but] I am excited to see how the Pogues react and what they do to get revenge on Groff," Virginia McGrew says in an email. "I also think that the scene of JJ dying with Kiara was extremely well done and emotional, making his passing even sadder. I ultimately believe that JJ’s passing serves as a reminder of the themes the show."

"JJ made the group even more aware of friendship, the importance of chosen family, and loyalty, which was seen throughout the season and especially in the finale," she continues. "Now that he is gone, the other Pogues will have to step up even more, creating a shift in their dynamic. While many believe that Outer Banks might not be worth watching after this finale, I truly think that it is only going to get even deeper and more interesting."