Mothers Who Think: Tales of Real-Life Parenthood | Camille Peri, Kate Moses

Mothers Who Think: Tales of Real-Life Parenthood | Camille Peri, Kate Moses | Excellent

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Mothers Who Think:...

	Mothers Who Think: Tales of Real-Life Parenthood Camille Peri, Kate Moses Villard, 1999 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 21 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

From the editors of the cutting-edge online magazine Salon come provocative essays that take an unflinching look at
the gritty truths and unreserved pleasures of contemporary motherhood.

Mothers Who Think: Tales of Real-Life Parenthood, which grew out of Salon's popular daily department of the same name, comprises nearly forty essays by writers grappling with the new and compelling ideas that motherhood has dangled before them. Elevating the discussion of motherhood above the level of tantrum control and potty training, this collection covers an unparalleled range of topics, from the impossibility of loving your children equally to raising a son without a father, from worrying that your privileged black child is becoming too "white" to the free-floating anger most mothers feel but wouldn't dare admit--except to other mothers. The intelligent, candid essays in Mothers Who Think are a testament to the notion that motherhood gives women more to think about, not less.

Coeditors Camille Peri and Kate Moses have assembled the best writing from the website's first two years, including works by "Mothers Who Think" regulars Anne Lamott, Chitra Divakaruni, Susie Bright, and Stephanie Coontz; eloquent new essays by Jayne Anne Phillips, Sallie Tisdale, Susan Straight, Jane Lazarre, Nora Okja Keller, Beth Kephart, Ariel Gore, and Alex Witchel; and more than a dozen un-forgettable new voices.

Irreverent, wistful, hilarious, fierce, tender, these essays offer an unsparing look at the myths and realities, serious and silly sides, and thankless and supremely satisfying aspects of being a mother.

WRITERS

Erin Aubry, Karen Grigsby Bates, Susie Bright, Stephanie Coontz, Chitra Divakaruni, Celeste Fremon, Mona Gable, Leslie Goodman-Malamuth, Ariel Gore, Arlene Green, Nora Okja Keller, Beth Kephart, Anne Lamott, Jane Lazarre, Lori Leibovich, Ceil Malek, Joyce Millman, Kate Moses, Beth Myler, Debra S. Ollivier, Camille Peri, Jayne Anne Phillips, Elizabeth Rapoport, Jennifer Reese, Rahna Reiko Rizzuto, Cynthia Romanov, Catherine A. Salton, Sandi Kahn Shelton, Rose Stoll, Susan Straight, Sallie Tisdale,
Kim Van Meter, Cathy Wilkinson,  Alex Witchel

ON MOTHERHOOD

Adoption, Babysitters, Baths, Birth, Blenders, Bodies, Boys Without Men, Brothers, Car Pools, Cold Coffee, College, Cupcakes, Custody, Daughters, Death, Diapers, Divorce, Dramas, Dreams, Escape, Expectations, Experience, Fantasies, Fathers, Food, Grandmothers, Growing Up, Gumbo, Home, Hunger, Kiddie Pools, Language, Lists, Love, Memories, Mothers, Nursing, Pets, Pregnancy, Pride, Princesses, Rage, School, Separation, Sex, Single Mothers, Sippy Cups, Sisters, Sleep Deprivation, Smells, Soccer Moms, Sons, Stepmothers, Tantrums, Teenagers, Time, Vibrators, Waterbeds, Working Mothers, Writing Mothers

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The only thing wrong with this book is its title!

I had heard about this book for years before I read it. What held me back was the title---I pictured this being a book about not just mothers who think, but mothers who think MORE THAN REGULAR MOTHERS---you know the kind of book. One with essays by mothers who think they are more devoted, more in tune, more able to work and care for their kids at one time..etc. That wasn't what this was at all. It is a collection of extremely well done essays about all aspects of parenting. In my opinion, the best here is On Not Having a Daughter, by Jayne Anne Phillips---about a child not born--I'll remember this writing always. You'll Get Used to It is another great one, about the tough seperation from your child and how you someday do miss how hard it is for them to leave! The Line is White and It is Narrow tells of a boy on the autistic spectrum with a love for soccer, and how his mother helps him make his dreams come true. I could go on and on...lots of terrific writing here. The weakest pieces in my opinion are the few short humor pieces about everything going wrong during childbirth---they are a little too slapstick for me, but they aren't that bad! Highly recommended collection about a topic that doesn't really get that much good writing---the thoughts and ideas of mothering.

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Excellent

This book is just a gem and one that I deeply treasure; it is the finest collection of motherhood non-fiction I have ever read. These true stories make you laugh, think, and cry all at once.
This book does not feature a collection of miserable, whiny women naval gazing about how haaaaard motherhood is (like A [...] in the House); rather these are heartful, intelligent essays written by women who have experienced such love for their kids that you read with tears in your eyes. There are stories of poverty, legal nightmares in family court, the heartache of knowing your child is unhappy at school, the remorse you feel when you give in to rage, etc.etc. This is a book for mothers who think. I wish I knew more of them.

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Must Read

This book is one that I give to any pregnant women that I know. I read the hardcover edition of this book in one sitting and felt like someone was articulating truths of motherhood. This book offers articles previously published on Salon in the MWT category. However, the site changed the name and focus of the articles.

Buy this book and suggest it to expecting mamas.

You'll Find Yourself in Here

This book is unabashadly honest. Mothers who are hard on themselves (find me one who isn't!) will find themselves in these pages in refreshingly forgiving and honest ways. Some of these essays have laugh out loud moments, and about every one is well written and poignant. Every topic that might concern a mom is represented here: abandonment, anger, boredom, illness, single parent issues, sibling rivalry, and so on. I received this book as a gift and took a while to get around to reading it (almost three years). I wish I had picked it up sooner; it would have brought me so much delight and comfort even sooner.

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Some thought before they wrote and some didn't!

About 90% of these essays were touching, the other 10% seemed like last minute homework assignments that were slapped together. All in all it was just a nice, touching, ok book.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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