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 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
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
Description: Very Good. 1573223042 Very Good Condition-Almost Like New-Exactly as Described--EXACT ISBN MATCH-**Hardcover**--Dust Jacket is nearly pristine. Exceptionally Nice Book. No personalizations, writing or marks in the text. Clean, Tight and Neat. Ships Quickly-IN STOCK-Satisfaction Guaranteed! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9781594481703ISBN:1594481709
Description: Good. Minor wear to cover; minor writing on flyleaf; Very clean pages; tight binding Average used book, may have price sticker on front cover, and moderate shelfwear. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9781573223041ISBN:1573223042
Description: Very good. No dust jacket. Tightly bound, little wear, pages clean of markings. Missing dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 336 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
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: A wonderful copy with some minor edgewear to the cover. Dust Jacket has some edgewear present. -, Hard Cover, Very Good / Very Good. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9781573223041ISBN:1573223042
Description: A wonderful copy with some minor edgewear to the cover. Dust Jacket has some edgewear present. -, Hard Cover, Very Good / Very Good. read more
"I loved this book for its relevance (to my life right now). It provided an interesting perspective on the pressure women of my generation feel - raising families, having careers, choices we make, choices we do not make, etc. This book was very thought provoking. Unfortunately, there are no solutions really proferred in the end - realistic or sad, I'm not certain. I still feel this is a must read."
"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."
"overall, i would say this book was very insightful. one of the most important chapters of the book is its last, which illustrates just how feasible it would be to solve the child-care problem in this country (in that there is none to speak of) if we as a nation were willing to allocate funds to the future of our children rather the bank accounts of the uber-wealthy and the wall street tycoons. she presents it mathematically, with a comparison to how the childcare system works in france (i know, how terrible in this country, to compare anything here to anything french!) and makes the salient point that childcare is already provided for some, for military families and for some governmental works, esp. in d.c., and rightful so but that this could be expanded, again if we were willing to spend money on kids rather than just talk a good game. i also appreciated warner's critique of the "intensive" or "total reality" mothering that is going on in my communities today, esp. white educated liberal ones that posture as very hippie. she does well in illustrating how all that belies feminist ideology and in some ways is quite reactionary. the major flaw of the book, in my estimate, is that it doesn't take in a major sectar of mothers--working class or poor mothers. warner acknowledges that she doesn't include them in her intro, saying she couldn't talk with everyone and didn't want to generalize but work on real interviews, real experiences of real mothers which is to be respected but i think as the author of another text called how to take back democracy, written with howard dean, it is sort of her job to speak to the middle class women she's critiquing, obsessing over playdates and food allergies and having just the right hello kitty party favors and make them aware of all the "have-nots," of all the suffering their some affluent worries obscure."
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