Discover Well-Read Black Girl Books and the projects reshaping publishing →

Book Summary and Reviews of Have Mother, Will Travel by Claire & Mia Fontaine

Have Mother, Will Travel by Claire & Mia Fontaine

Have Mother, Will Travel

A Mother and Daughter Discover Themselves, Each Other, and the World

by Claire & Mia Fontaine

  • Readers' Rating (39):
  • Published:
  • Jul 2012, 288 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

In their bestselling memoir, Come Back, readers were moved and inspired by the story of Mia Fontaine's harrowing drug addiction and her mother, Claire's, desperate and ultimately successful attempts to save her. Now, it is a decade later, and Claire and Mia, each facing a defining moment in their lives, are determined to transform themselves and their relationship again.

At fifty-one, Claire wants to shed her identity as her daughter's savior. Mia, twenty-five, needs to grow beyond her role as recovery's poster child and learn to navigate the world. To accomplish their goals, the pair embarks on a six-month, around-the-world adventure, hoping the trip with help them evolve as women, remember to live intentionally, and bring them together as friends. An amazing journey awaits: a sixteen-city twelve-country tour that will include mishaps, mayhem, laughter, and unexpected joys, from a passport-eating elephant to a calamitous camel ride around the pyramids.

As they examine the mother/daughter relationship in other cultures, Mia comes to know her mother as Claire has always known Mia - as all mothers know their daughters: better than anyone else, and often better than themselves. At the end of the journey, each returns with a deepened sense of who they are and where they want to go - and both joyously embrace the profound friendship they have discovered and the abiding love they share.

Told in alternating voices, Have Mother, Will Travel is a moving testament to the amazing power of the mother-daughter relationship and shows us the possibilities available in our own lives.

Reading Guide

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Have Mother, Will Travel" is filled with what I would have given anything to experience and treasure with my own mother - the inner workings of our hearts and thoughts. I love these women!" - Leah Komaiko, author of Am I Old Yet?

"A beautiful, funny, and oh-so-representative peek into how complicated - and wonderful - a mother-daughter relationship can be… I could feel, as a mother and a daughter, every struggle and bump in the road… the love between a mother and daughter, while not always sunshine and daisies, will never end." - Ree Drummond, author of The Pioneer Woman Cooks

"Finally, a book that celebrates the complexities of the mother-daughter bond with humor and depth. Both authors come to terms with who they are as women - together and apart - as they traverse twenty countries. Their relationship is an inspiration; you'll want to travel every step of the journey with them." - Maureen Murdock, author of The Heroine's Journey and Unreliable Truth

"Nobody writes with as much honesty, bravery, and humor as Claire and Mia Fontaine when it comes to the dynamic of the complex, baffling, nurturing, infuriating, comforting labyrinth known as the mother/daughter relationship. No matter how far we travel or what we do, we will always be one." - Tracey Jackson, author of Between a Rock and a Hot Place: Why Fifty Is Not the New Thirty

"An extremely insightful and inspiring look at how we relate, with our loved ones, with ourselves, and the world… Their courage in examining themselves, and their relationship, reminds us how important it is to stay mindful and proactive in all of our relationships, especially with our family." - Janice Croze, Founder of 5minutesformom.com

"As a mother of young daughters, I finished this book with such anticipation for the future, inspired by the relationship that Claire and Mia have formed through challenges and triumphs… I found myself falling deeper in love with the soul–transforming journey of both loving a mother and raising a child." - Kelle Hampton, author of Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected

This information about Have Mother, Will Travel was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Ann S. (Shenandoah, Iowa)

Opportunity of a lifetime
Perhaps some mothers would not give a thought to spending such a prolonged and concentrated time with their daughter; I would love it.

I found this memoir filled with honest observations and instances which touched my very soul. I would cherish even a few days of time with my daughter, away from our different lives. A longer time would be a dream.

It is not that Claire and Mia are always on the same page, but that they are not and yet respect and give credibility to each others' thoughts and opinions. Their descriptions of both the physical surroundings and incidents give the reader insight into their individuality. A great read!

I now plan to read their earlier book.

Janice C. (Hayward, CA)

Have Mother Will Travel
I truly enjoyed this book. It was honest and insightful.
I am not the daughter of a narcissistic mother nor do I believe I am a narcissistic mother myself. I do have a few friends who I know will benefit from reading this book. I will be sure to pass my copy on and recommend it to others. Because I did not consider this a self-help book, it was simply an excellent read.

Eileen L. (Danvers, MA)

A great journey
I LOVED this book, and I do not often say that. The relationship between mother and daughter is so finely drawn, and so natural, I felt as though I knew them. Having lost my mother young I could live through Mia as she grew to know her Mother as a person and a woman , as well as a Mom. Their shared experiences on their trip dovetailed perfectly with the journey they were on as a family. As they discover more and more about each other you can feel the relationship deepening and shifting. The writing is memorizing and the descriptions of the trip are so rich. Great , great read!

Margaret H. (Springfield, VA)

Have Mother will Travel
Continuing their joint memoir, Come Back, Claire and Mia travel to Asia with a scavenger hunt and then spend time in Avignon and Budapest, visiting old memories for both of them. Told in two voices this is a study of the connections between mothers and daughters. As they visit and talk about places together and their feelings, the reader learns why they react to events as they do. Humor and pathos share space in the book as Mia swims with elephants and Claire rides camels. It is when they travel to France that they begin to understand each other better and give each other the space and the support that they each need. This is a very moving account of their relationship as well as a guide for other mothers and daughters facing questions of their own.

Jennifer F. (Saratoga, CA)

Insightful journey with mother and daughter
Have Mother will Travel is a thoroughly enjoyable read, especially as a mother of an adult daughter myself. I found myself smiling as this mother daughter team negotiated through their travels and their relationship. The writing felt true and honest.

Terry D. (AMITYVILLE, NEW YORK)

DELIGHTFUL!
I choose this book because I have two grown daughters and I do love to travel. However, I never expected it to have such wisdom. Claire and Mia learn so much about themselves and each other that it was very inspiring.

...14 more reader reviews

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Information

Together, Claire and Mia Fontaine have also penned the memoir Come Back: A Mother and Daughter's Journey Through Hell and Back. Visit them online at www.facebook.com/HaveMotherWillTravel.

More Author Information

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Have Mother, Will Travel, try these:

  • Awake in the Floating City jacket

    Awake in the Floating City

    by Susanna Kwan

    Published 2026

    About this book

    An utterly transporting debut novel about the unexpected relationship between an artist and the 130-year-old woman she cares for—two of the last people living in a flooded San Francisco of the future, the home neither is ready to leave.

  • My Friends jacket

    My Friends

    by Fredrik Backman

    Published 2026

    About this book

    #1 New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger's life twenty-five years later.

  • All Fours jacket

    All Fours

    by Miranda July

    Published 2025

    About this book

    The New York Times bestselling author returns with an irreverently sexy, tender, hilarious and surprising novel about a woman upending her life

We have 10 read-alikes for Have Mother, Will Travel, but non-members are limited to three results. Join free to see the complete list of recommendations.
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes

More Travel & Adventure

Browse all Travel & Adventure books

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    When No One Else Will
    by Amanda Skenandore
    1940s Chicago nurse risks everything at an illegal women’s clinic during a high-profile trial of courage and sisterhood.
  • Book Jacket
    A Pair of Aces
    by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
    Two women on opposite sides of the law team up to bring down gangster Lucky Luciano in this gripping novel.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket
    Feast
    by Catherine Kurtz
    In 19th-century France, a girl with a magical taste becomes a duc’s poison taster amid nobility and danger.
  • Book Jacket
    The Jellyfish Problem
    by Tessa Yang
    A marine biologist rescues a Maine island menaced by a giant glowing jellyfish in this inventive debut.
  • Book Jacket
    Summer's Never Over
    by Darby Bozeman
    A woman revisits a Southern summer camp where a counselor's death may not have been an accident.
  • Book Jacket
    The Reimagining of Thornwood House
    by Jaleigh Johnson
    A witch and her ward discover a magical walking house and find the true meaning of home.
Who Said...

It is always darkest just before the day dawneth

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Book
Trivia
  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

Q S, S

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.