About this title: A lively and provocative look at the modern culture of motherhood and at the social, economic, and political forces that shaped current ideas aboutparenting.
What is wrong with this picture? That's the question Judith Warner asks after taking a good, hard look at the world of modern motherhood-at anxious women at work and at home and in bed with unhappy husbands.
When Warner had her first child, she was living in Paris, where parents routinely left their children home, with state-subsidized nannies, to joinfriends in the evening for dinner or to go on dates with their husbands. When she ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Date published: 02/2005
ISBN-13:9781573223041ISBN:1573223042
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 336 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Date published: 02/2005
ISBN-13:9781573223041ISBN:1573223042
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 336 p. Ex-Library expected imperfections. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Date published: 02/2005
ISBN-13:9781573223041ISBN:1573223042
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Good, In good dust jacket. Signed by Author. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 336 p. Previous Owner's Inscription. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Date published: 2005
ISBN-13:9781573223041ISBN:1573223042
Description: Very Good. 1573223042 3rd printing, Riverhead Books hardcover w/ DJ, 2005. Book is VG, w/ clean text, tight binding. DJ is VG minus, w/ light edgewear (including a 3/4" tear at base of spine panel). Free delivery confirmation. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Date published: 2005
ISBN-13:9781573223041ISBN:1573223042
Description: Good in very good dust jacket. Highlighting/underlining. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 336 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Date published: 2005
ISBN-13:9781573223041ISBN:1573223042
Description: Very Good. 1573223042 *HCDJ * SHIPPING WITHIN 24 HOURS! ** QUESTIONS ANSWERED QUICKLY ** THANKS ** HARDCOVER BOOK WITH DUST JACKET. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Date published: 2005
ISBN-13:9781573223041ISBN:1573223042
Description: Good. 323-W Books rated "Good" may have some notes, underlining, or highlighting. These books also may contain the previous owner's name, stamp, sticker, or gift inscription, or may be library discards. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Date published: 2006
ISBN-13:9781594481703ISBN:1594481709
Description: Acceptable. First Edition. 196-W Books rated "Acceptable" may have significant wear & tear; may have significant amounts of underlining, highlighting, or notes; may have moderate stains, creases, or tears; may have cracked spines or loose pages; may have the previous owner's name, stamp, sticker, or gift inscription; or may be library discards. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Date published: 2006
ISBN-13:9781594481703ISBN:1594481709
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Date published: 2006
ISBN-13:9781594481703ISBN:1594481709
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Date published: 2005
ISBN-13:9781573223041ISBN:1573223042
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Date published: 2006
ISBN-13:9781594481703ISBN:1594481709
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Date published: 2005
ISBN-13:9781573223041ISBN:1573223042
Description: Good. Only lightly used. Book has minimal wear to cover and binding. A few pages may have small creases and minimal underlining. Book selection as BIG as Texas. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Date published: 2006
ISBN-13:9781594481703ISBN:1594481709
Description: Good. Only lightly used. Book has minimal wear to cover and binding. A few pages may have small creases and minimal underlining. Book selection as BIG as Texas. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Date published: 2006
ISBN-13:9781594481703ISBN:1594481709
Description: Good. Only lightly used. Book has minimal wear to cover and binding. A few pages may have small creases and minimal underlining. Book selection as BIG as Texas. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Date published: 2006
ISBN-13:9781594481703ISBN:1594481709
Description: Good. Only lightly used. Book has minimal wear to cover and binding. A few pages may have small creases and minimal underlining. Book selection as BIG as Texas. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Date published: 2006
ISBN-13:9781594481703ISBN:1594481709
Description: Good. Only lightly used. Book has minimal wear to cover and binding. A few pages may have small creases and minimal underlining. Book selection as BIG as Texas. read more
"Reading this book was a schizophrenic experience - I wavered between complete agreement with the author and total irritation at her inconsistencies and inaccuracies. She nails the feeling of free-floating anxiety that surrounds the contemporary practice of parenting, and correctly points a finger at U.S. society's failure to find collective childcare solutions. But a lot of undeserving targets, from natural birth to comfortable mom clothes, get tarnished by her broad brush, and her need to sustain a polemical argument engenders a tone of urgent complaint that drove me nuts. She also rarely questions the first-wave feminist assumption that paid work is always a more worthy use of women's (and men's) time than parenting, even though her larger argument would seem to suggest that our culture should place greater priority on childrearing as a public good. Finally, as other reviewers have pointed out, her exclusive focus on affluent, educated parents weakens her argument and gives the book a navel-gazing quality that ultimately constricts its scope."
"I was going through a phase where I just happened to be reading books by many urban East Coasters, and I was amazed at how neurotic they seem to be. This covers the specific pressures of motherhood, and yes, if everyone else is going in that direction, it would be hard not to pick up on the neurosis, even if your natural tendency was towards sanity.
Warner was able to provide an alternate perspective, having also spent time in Europe, where mothers receive more support, and face less pressure. She does not seem to get what can be good about being a stay-at-home mother, which may put off some readers, but still has some points worth thinking about.
I wonder how her perspective would change if she ever got to experience the Pacific Northwest."
"This was a bookclub selection for us and our general consensus was that there was no conclusion. She started off by letting us know how much better childcare and support for mothers is in France and then proceeded to hop all around American history trying to explain the seesaw of support here in the states. You get the idea that she believes mothers need to be happy in order for their children to be so, (and you cheer for this) and yet, there is no solution and no real structure. It just ends up a frustrating read and only one of us finished it."
I cannot say that I agreed with every argument; However, it isn't necessary that I do. The point, whether you agree with the nuances or not, is that mothers are killing themselves trying to be perfect. They are guilt ridden and anxious. I know I am. And the very people that we should be turning to for support, the very people that need our support, other mothers , are the very ones that we consistently judge and criticize. There are too many examples to count so I'll use the oft referenced stay-at-home vs working-mommy: these should not be warring factions (oh but they are! I've witnessed it myself. Some moms are enlightened but vocal groups on both sides are decidedly not). We're all moms, isn't that enough? But somehow being open to another point of view would require admitting that our way of doing things isn't the only way and therefore not perfect.
Ugh.
She also points out that happier mothers have happier, better adjusted children whether they are working moms or stay at home moms.
She discusses a variety of other issues near and dear to a mom's heart (over-scheduling etc). Basically, If you're a mom or thinking about being a mom, if you've wondered if motherhood has to be this complicated: read this book. You won't agree with every word, but it will make you stop and think, it will make you wonder, if there isn't an easier way.
I don't spend my time judging other moms. I assume, that like me, they are doing the best they can, and they love their children very much, even if they parent differently than I do. But starting now, when another mom makes a comment about my kids being in daycare part time, or that they are "wild" or whatever, instead of reflexively justifying how I parent, I will just smile, and say that it works for me. Maybe I'll ask about her kids, maybe I'll have a friendly conversation with her. We aren't adversaries after all."
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