20 Books That Help You Appreciate the Love of Family

In this poignant narrative about community and family, Kyle McCray heads back to the hometown he deserted and the people he left behind. He plans to keep a low profile and avoid the folks he disappointed, from his former friends and employees to his ex-wife. The longer he’s around, however, the more he understands the damage he caused and the importance of setting things right. So when the opportunity arises to coach the town’s struggling middle school hockey team, it just might serve as his shot at redemption.

Members of the Williams family travel far and wide to gather in Eulalia, Georgia, and mourn the death of their patriarch, Gerry. But the funeral takes an unexpected turn when Gerry’s best friend shares a surprise confession during his eulogy. As the Williams cousins, aunts, and uncles process the revelation and grapple with their own dramas and heartaches, they discover that family has the unique ability both to hit you where it hurts and to soothe your wounds.

Nearly two decades after the birth of their IVF triplets, Salo and Johanna Oppenheimer are on the verge of becoming empty nesters. Facing a lonely future, with the children off to college and her husband growing increasingly distant, Johanna decides to have another baby. Will this late addition bring the family together, or upend whatever constancy they’ve created?

When Marley West arrives in the small town of Mercury, Pennsylvania, she finds more than a new place to call home — she finds a family. The three Joseph brothers become her everything: She’s a wife to one, a lost love to another, and a maternal figure to all three. But when long-buried secrets are exposed, the family must decide whether they should stay the course or forge a new path together.

Danny and Maeve’s childhood home is a source of pride, but when their father dies he leaves everything to their stepmother. Abruptly rejected, the siblings will never enjoy the wealth they knew as children, much less the warmth of family in the house that symbolizes the last time they were truly happy. As their lives unfold, we see their truth: It has always been the two of them against the world.

When an old school friend reaches out and begs Lillian for help with two unpredictable stepchildren, she’s intrigued and agrees to give it a shot. The one catch to this new job: The twins burst into flames when they’re upset. Lillian gets the kids to chill out (literally) long enough to trust her, but can they form the family everyone so desperately needs?

Little Dog feels compelled to write a letter to his mother despite her illiteracy. He has things to tell her – about their past in Vietnam, how much he loves her, the power of language to heal, and most importantly his life as a gay man. It’s a brave coming-of-age story told to an audience of one.

Marilyn and David built a family on love and connectedness, but their four daughters couldn’t be more different from each other as adults. Their careers and love lives are dramatic enough, and the sudden arrival of Jonah — a boy given up for adoption 15 years prior — threatens to upset whatever delicate family balance they’ve struggled to achieve.

At Melody’s sweet 16 party, we meet two families from very different economic backgrounds, linked forever through a past teenage pregnancy. Jumping through generations, we see Melody’s young parents struggle, her grandparents fear for their lives, and the weight of their history laid at Melody’s feet.

Two brothers and their two friends run away from the Lincoln School, where Native American children are sent for re-education. With a canoe, few supplies, and the Mississippi River as their guide, the four find their way to a new life. Their adventure is a reminder to cherish the family you’re born with and the one you create with others.

From the outside, the Kissingers appeared as a charmed and boisterous suburban family. Behind closed doors, however, they struggled with mental illness — but in 1960s America, that just wasn’t something you talked about. Part memoir, part investigative journalism, While You Were Out is the story of a family’s resilience in the face of the country’s flawed approach to mental health.

Refugees from Vietnam, Susan Lieu’s family looked to her mother to lead them in their new life in California. She was charismatic and capable, ran two successful nail salons, and served as the family’s guiding light. But when Susan was only 11, her mother died from a botched cosmetic procedure. In the decades since, Susan has searched for answers — about loss, her mother, her family, and herself.

Mikel Jollett’s childhood was anything but typical. He was born into the Church of Synanon cult, and even after he escaped with his mother and brother, his youth was filled with trauma and strife. Though his journey is marked by struggle, Jollett’s memoir is a testament to familial love and devotion, even in the darkest of circumstances.

The Shahani family immigrates to New York City and works hard to live the American dream. Unfortunately, the challenges also come hard and fast, like when her father finds himself in the middle of an international money laundering case and faces deportation. Race, class, and immigration law intersect painfully in this beautiful family memoir.

The Soong sisters of Shanghai are easily among the most powerful siblings in world history, facing life-threatening dangers and shaping the fate of a nation, regardless of their disagreements. This is the fascinating sisterhood of Ching-ling, wife of Sun Yat-sen and vice-chair to Chairman Mao; May-ling, wife of Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of Nationalist China; and Ei-ling, adviser to Chiang Kai-shek and one of the wealthiest women in China.

Bechdel’s much-lauded memoir details the roundabout way that both she and her father discovered and then took ownership of their own sexualities. Secret affairs plagued her parents’ marriage, but her father’s sudden death leaves a hole in her life she can’t fill. Open minds and open hearts will see her story for what it is: a family’s unconditional love.

Bernstein’s small, working-class English town is divided in two, with Christian families living on one side, Jewish families on the other, and not much cultural understanding between the two. When Harry’s Jewish sister falls in love with a Christian boy, he keeps her secret until the day that love can finally conquer all.

In a little yellow house in New Orleans, the 13 members of the Broom family grieve, love, grow up, leave, return, and love some more. This is the story of the house’s neighborhood as much as its family, and when Hurricane Katrina tears it down, the family survives on the kindness of neighbors and strangers. It’s about how the Broom family built a home, with and without a house.

In the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, families like Chika’s were thrust into poverty. By age five, she is an orphan and has been diagnosed with a rare tumor. Mitch Albom and his wife take charge of Chika, traveling the world in search of a cure, bonding with the little girl who would be their only child. As with all families, even the worst heartache is worth every moment you have together.