During an afternoon of coffee and conversation, a friend of Erin McHugh’s pointed out that she frequently invoked quotations and memories from her mother. Then Erin started noticing how many other people did the same. It also became clear how humorous, moving, and unusual these gems were—so she decided to do something about it. In Like My Mother Always Said, McHugh, author of the successful Abrams Image feel-good title One Good Deed, collects the wonderful and laugh-worthy words that our moms tell us in their attempts to be helpful and instructive. (Whether they succeed or not is another thing entirely!) Offered up in quips and short anecdotes, all the kinds of nurturing and nutty information we glean from our mothers is divided into chapters such as “Questionable Wisdom,” “Unconditional Love,” “Good Manners & Bad Behavior,” and “Wise Words.”