Recs if you like Godshot...

Books where cults are a significant part of the narrative. Some fiction, some non-fiction.

Fiction & nonfiction books that explore the complexities and traumas of mother-child relationships or in which such relationships play a central role. While many books on this list are what I’d classify as including “mommy issues” there are others that are more about the different perspectives and nuances of the mother-child (often specifically mother-daughter) relationship. Some books center the child, some the mother, some both.

Suggestions are welcome.

God loves you, but not enough to save you from these stories. Ethel Cain & Preacher’s Daughter vibes/inspired fiction

the books that are most interesting, inventive, and complex for the girlhood studies grad student in me. whose “girlhood” are we talking about? i’m thinking of girlhood as a liminal, queer, socially constructed, often traumatic, uncanny space.

unnerving, unsettling, spooky or generally creepy books that take place in summer + have that slow scorching summer dread vibe

Women pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable in pursuit of their urges and desires. They’re behaving badly, unconventionally, and selfishly. Some are violent, some are horny, some are traumatized, some are angry—but all of them are finally acting for themselves.

An expansive list born out of combination of feminine rage, weird girl lit, “good for her”, women vs the void, monstrous feminine, and everything in between. Books written by women, trans, and nonbinary authors only.

Stories of mothers and daughters tangled in love, grief, and ruin.

Ethel Cain’s bookshelf. Haunted churches, dirt roads, and hymns gone sour.