Strength and sacrifice. Toughness and tenderness. Pride and failure. These elements-omnipresent in the world of sports-are also among the beautiful and challenging dichotomies at the heart of modern motherhood.

Tough ... as a Mother tackles motherhood in a whole new way, bringing all moms up close and personal with some of the biggest names in women's sports

US Soccer star Alex Morgan, Olympic marathon runner Aliphine Tuliamuk, and ESPN broadcaster Laura Rutledge headline an all-star roster of tough mothers who share hard-won insight with readers through candid, vulnerable conversations. They come to you not as famous athletes, TV personalities, or professional movers and shakers, but simply as fellow working mothers. Kindred spirits who might catch your eye from across the room as you're trying to find a place in the office to pump or are stepping out of a meeting to take a call from a frenzied babysitter.

By turns wry, self-deprecating, heartfelt, and exuberant, this anthology invites readers to destroy the myth of perfection, redefine the concept of balance, and help all mothers recognize their strength.