A unique and thoughtful book—part memoir, part social science, part self-help—explores the abiding mystery of the mother-child bond.

After years of seeking insight at a Buddhist monastery, Bethany Saltman came to believe that the biggest lessons on life and love might be found instead in motherhood. She was not wrong. She and her husband had their daughter, Azalea, when Ms. Saltman was in her late 30s, and the revelations were swift and often uncomfortable. Sure, she felt “a squishy-hearted, swooning love” for her child, as she tells us in “Strange Situation: A Mother’s Journey Into the Science of Attachment,” but she was also miserable. Her days were long, dull and frustrating. As Azalea got older, Ms. Saltman’s body “lit up with hostility”…

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–Emily Bobrow