The Book Blog

Ever find yourself gazing longingly at your bookshelf, the lure of unread stories beckoning, yet unable to muster the enthusiasm to dive in? Like me, you may be experiencing the notorious reader's block—a seemingly insurmountable barrier between you and the captivating worlds within those pages. Sometimes it strikes even when you have the enthusiasm but are just overwhelmed with all the different options, you don't know where to start.  Like writer’s block, reader’s block can sometimes be about confidence. Reading is an intellectual exercise, and not always an easy one. I’ve certainly felt humbled by my failed forays into demanding books beyond my grasp. Even when it’s not about how smart you are, you can sometimes get the reading blues. Reading takes time, money, and effort, and when you feel it’s been unrewarding of late, you may become unmotivated.

But fear not, for in this blog post, we'll unravel the mystery of reader's block and discover the keys to unlocking your literary passion. So, grab your favorite blanket, settle into your reading nook, and let's embark on a journey to reignite your love for books! Let's dive into some strategies to overcome reader's block.

1. Change Your Reading Environment

Sometimes, a simple change of scenery can do wonders. If you usually read indoors, try taking your book to a park, coffee shop, or even a cozy corner of your home you haven't used for reading before. 

2. Create a Reading Ritual

Establishing a pre-reading routine can signal your brain that it's time to unwind. Whether it's brewing a cup of tea, lighting a scented candle, or playing soft background music, these rituals can set the stage for an immersive reading experience. 

3. Set Realistic Goals

Don't pressure yourself to finish an entire book in one sitting. Sometimes it's all about going back to the basics by setting achievable reading goals, like completing a chapter or even just a few pages. Celebrate these small victories - they add up!

4. Revisit an Old Favorite

Rereading a favorite is one of the best ways to cure the book blahs. In fact, it's one of the best feelings in the world. When you revist an old favorite, you remember why you love to read, how a fictional character could resonate so deeply with you, what ingenious wordplay exists in the world, and what diabolical drama a writer is capable of concocting. Oh, the literary possibilities!

5. Explore Different Genres

If you're stuck in a reading rut, try venturing into uncharted literary territories. Pick up a genre you haven't explored before; you might discover a hidden gem that reignites your passion for reading.

6. Join a Book Club (hint hint) or Reading Group

Sharing your reading experience with others can be incredibly motivating. Book clubs provide a sense of community and the opportunity to discuss and dissect a story, making the reading process more engaging.  

7. Mix Media

If traditional books aren't doing the trick, consider trying audiobooks or e-books. Sometimes, a change in format can rekindle your interest and make the reading experience feel fresh. 

8. Take Breaks

It's okay to take breaks from reading (even though it can feel like sacrilege just to suggest). Engage in other hobbies or activities, and when you return to your books, you might find a renewed sense of interest and focus. 

As you embark on this journey to conquer reader's block, remember that it's okay to experience ebbs and flows in your reading enthusiasm. The literary world is vast and diverse, filled with stories waiting to capture your imagination. By embracing change, setting realistic goals, and infusing joy into your reading routine, you're not just overcoming reader's block—you're rediscovering the magic of storytelling. So, dear reader, go forth with a heart full of curiosity, a book in hand, and let the pages transport you to worlds unknown. The adventure awaits, and you have the power to make it extraordinary. Happy reading!

Good morning and welcome everyone to my edition of this week’s Book Blog. You know reader, one genre that I cannot get enough of is non-fiction. Now I know, this could possibly sound boring to you, and I understand. I just feel that real life, and the things that happen in it, is where we can learn most about who we are as humans being in this world.

This week I am reviewing Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and The Rise of Right-Wing Extremism because the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995 was one real life catastrophe that was seared into my memory as a teenager growing up in the United States. An event that at the time was called one of the worst terror attacks in our country, and still remains one of the most awful attacks to come from the hands of an American-against other innocent American civilians.

The book tells the story of Timothy McVeigh, where you will learn he grew up outside of Buffalo NY and was a highly decorated gunner and marksman in a tank division in the United States Army. Excerpts are shared from fellow soldiers and officers that describe McVeigh as a model soldier, who, after a tour in the first Desert Storm Operation, came home and immediately began preparing a try out for Special Forces. He ultimately dropped out of the training and decided to leave the military altogether. Author Jeffery Toobin explains that McVeigh had begun to develop a distrust of the military and government, especially how he and fellow veterans were treated coming back from the first Gulf War.

Losing the purpose that he had found in the military, McVeigh turned to right wing publications and AM and low frequency radio programs hosted by right wing personalities. This was the 1990’s, and the rise of Rush Limbaugh, along with other popular hosts began to fuel this distrust and animosity towards the federal government. McVeigh feeds off of this and embeds himself further into that fury. He starts attending gun shows and selling and buying firearms. He isn’t successful at this, but he meets others in the circuit that share his views. He even goes to WACO and witnesses firsthand the standoff between the government and the Branch Davidians of David Koresh.

Unfortunately, the WACO tragedy becomes one of the many catalysts that drives Timothy McVeigh into action. This incident, coupled with his insatiable appetite for right wing literature and media, and the hate and fear of the United States Government motivates him to decide to take matters into his own hands. To strike back at the government that whom he believes has wronged him and his fellow “patriots” across the United States. He works with people he used to serve with and decides to plan an act of terror which claims hundreds of innocent American men, women, and children.

The title of this book, Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism, also highlights what the author, Jeffery Toobin attempts to do by explaining the McVeigh story. He ties it to the tragic events of January 6^th. I believe he is successful in tracing the thread of what many of the people who stormed the Capitol had in their minds. They seemed to share that same feeling that somehow their government was not working for them anymore. That they had become the next wave in the unfortunate rise and proliferation of political extremism in our country today.

Homegrown by Jeffrey Toobin

ISBN: 9781668013571

Publication Date: 2023-05-02

The definitive account of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the enduring legacy of Timothy McVeigh, leading to the January 6 insurrection--from acclaimed journalist Jeffrey Toobin. Timothy McVeigh wanted to start a movement. Speaking to his lawyers days after the Oklahoma City bombing, the Gulf War veteran expressed no regrets: killing 168 people was his patriotic duty. He cited the Declaration of Independence from memory: "Whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it." He had obsessively followed the siege of Waco and seethed at the imposition of President Bill Clinton's assault weapons ban. A self-proclaimed white separatist, he abhorred immigration and wanted women to return to traditional roles. As he watched the industrial decline of his native Buffalo, McVeigh longed for when America was great. New York Times bestselling author Jeffrey Toobin traces the dramatic history and profound legacy of Timothy McVeigh, who once declared, "I believe there is an army out there, ready to rise up, even though I never found it." But that doesn't mean his army wasn't there. With news-breaking reportage, Toobin details how McVeigh's principles and tactics have flourished in the decades since his death in 2001, reaching an apotheosis on January 6 when hundreds of rioters stormed the Capitol. Based on nearly a million previously unreleased tapes, photographs, and documents, including detailed communications between McVeigh and his lawyers, as well as interviews with such key figures as Bill Clinton, Homegrown reveals how the story of Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing is not only a powerful retelling of one of the great outrages of our time, but a warning for our future.

 

More by Jeffery Toobin:

 

The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin

ISBN: 9780385516402

Publication Date: 2007-09-18

Bestselling author Jeffrey Toobin takes you into the chambers of the most important—and secret—legal body in our country, the Supreme Court, and reveals the complex dynamic among the nine people who decide the law of the land. Just in time for the 2008 presidential election—where the future of the Court will be at stake—Toobin reveals an institution at a moment of transition, when decades of conservative disgust with the Court have finally produced a conservative majority, with major changes in store on such issues as abortion, civil rights, presidential power, and church-state relations. Based on exclusive interviews with justices themselves, The Nine tells the story of the Court through personalities—from Anthony Kennedy's overwhelming sense of self-importance to Clarence Thomas's well-tended grievances against his critics to David Souter's odd nineteenth-century lifestyle. There is also, for the first time, the full behind-the-scenes story of Bush v. Gore—and Sandra Day O'Connor's fateful breach with George W. Bush, the president she helped place in office. The Nine is the book bestselling author Jeffrey Toobin was born to write. A CNN senior legal analyst and New Yorker staff writer, no one is more superbly qualified to profile the nine justices.

 

Too Close to Call by Jeffrey Toobin

ISBN: 9780375761072

Publication Date: 2002-10-08

From the best-selling author of A Vast Conspiracy and The Run of His Life comes Too Close to Call--the definitive story of the Bush-Gore presidential recount. A political and legal analyst of unparalleled journalistic skill, Jeffrey Toobin is the ideal writer to distill the events of the thirty-six anxiety-filled days that culminated in one of the most stunning Supreme Court decisions in history. Packed with news-making disclosures and written with the drive of a legal thriller, Too Close to Call takes us inside James Baker's private jet, through the locked gates to Al Gore's mansion, behind the covered-up windows of Katherine Harris's office, and even into the secret conference room of the United States Supreme Court. As the scene shifts from Washington to Austin and into the remote corners of the enduringly strange Sunshine State, Toobin's book will transform what you thought you knew about the most extraordinary political drama in American history. The Florida recount unfolded in a kaleidoscopic maze of bizarre concepts (chads, pregnant and otherwise), unfamiliar people in critically important positions (the Florida Supreme Court), and familiar people in surprising new places (the Miami relatives of Elián González, in a previously undisclosed role in this melodrama). With the rich characterization that is his trademark, Toobin portrays the prominent strategists who masterminded the campaigns--the Daleys and the Roves--and also the lesser-known but influential players who pulled the strings, as well as the judges and justices whose decisions determined the final outcome. Toobin gives both camps a treatment they have not yet received--remarkably evenhanded, nonpartisan, and entirely new. The post-election period posed a challenge to even the most zealous news junkie: how to keep up with what was happening and sort out the important from the trivial. Jeffrey Toobin has now done this--and then some. With clarity, insight, humor, and a deep understanding of the law, he deconstructs the events, the players, and the often Byzantine intricacies of our judicial system. A remarkable account of one of the most significant periods in our country's history, Too Close to Call is endlessly surprising, frequently poignant, and wholly addictive.

 

American Heiress by Jeffrey Toobin

ISBN: 9780385536714

Publication Date: 2016-08-02

From New Yorker staff writer and bestselling author of The Nine and The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson, the definitive account of the kidnapping and trial that defined an insane era in American history   On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst, a sophomore in college and heiress to the Hearst family fortune, was kidnapped by a ragtag group of self-styled revolutionaries calling itself the Symbionese Liberation Army. The already sensational story took the first of many incredible twists on April 3, when the group released a tape of Patty saying she had joined the SLA and had adopted the nom de guerre "Tania."      The weird turns of the tale are truly astonishing--the Hearst family trying to secure Patty's release by feeding all the people of Oakland and San Francisco for free; the bank security cameras capturing "Tania" wielding a machine gun during a robbery; a cast of characters including everyone from Bill Walton to the Black Panthers to Ronald Reagan to F. Lee Bailey; the largest police shoot-out in American history; the first breaking news event to be broadcast live on television stations across the country; Patty's year on the lam, running from authorities; and her circuslike trial, filled with theatrical courtroom confrontations and a dramatic last-minute reversal, after which the term "Stockholm syndrome" entered the lexicon.        The saga of Patty Hearst highlighted a decade in which America seemed to be suffering a collective nervous breakdown. Based on more than a hundred interviews and thousands of previously secret documents, American Heiress thrillingly recounts the craziness of the times (there were an average of 1,500 terrorist bombings a year in the early 1970s). Toobin portrays the lunacy of the half-baked radicals of the SLA and the toxic mix of sex, politics, and violence that swept up Patty Hearst and re-creates her melodramatic trial. American Heiress examines the life of a young woman who suffered an unimaginable trauma and then made the stunning decision to join her captors' crusade.         Or did she?

 

 

 

December 8 of this year will mark the 43rd anniversary of the death of John Ono Lennon, who, at 40 years old, was killed outside his New York apartment. While I could use this as a chance to comment on gun violence in America, the relative lack of improvement in mental healthcare and mental health research since the 1980s, or the world’s deafening refusal to “Give Peace a Chance” (Everybody’s talking about Israel/Palestine, fentanyl and xylazine, left wing and right wing, and freight trucks and Starbucks...), I will instead use this time to talk about love and memory. 

Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono’s life story and career have long been overshadowed by the world’s preoccupation with who her husband was. An accomplished artist, musician, and activist in her own right, Ono has lived for decades with the reputation of being the woman who broke up the Beatles, a moniker which is both unfair to her and overstates the influence she had on Lennon’s career, and the Beatles as a group. Recently, fans and academics alike have begun to acknowledge that the response to Ono in the 1960s, which has persisted now for over fifty years, was largely based in racism and misogyny and her role in Beatles history needs to be thoroughly reconsidered (I highly recommend the chapters on Yoko Ono in Lily E. Hirsch’s Can’t Stop the Grrrls: Confronting Sexist Labels in Pop Music from Ariana Grande to Yoko Ono, linked below, as well as Christine Feldman-Barrett's A Women’s History of the Beatles). Nevertheless, since 1980, Ono has adapted to the shadow she now inevitably lives under and has accepted her role as the one to carry and hold up her husband’s legacy. Ono has dedicated much of the last 43 years of her life to telling not only her version of Lennon’s story, but other people’s as well. 

In 2005, 25 years after Lennon’s death, Ono released a book which she coordinated, compiled, and edited, titled Memories of John Lennon. This book features stories from 75 celebrities, writers, photographers, and artists who knew Lennon when he was alive about some of their favorite memories of him. One of the most poignant of these was submitted by the photographer Annie Leibovitz, who conducted Lennon’s last photoshoot just hours before he was killed. Leibovitz offers no words but instead allows her pictures to tell the viewer who John Lennon was to her. 

Annie Leibovitz’s photos of John Ono Lennon and Yoko Ono, taken hours before his death on December 8, 1980. This spread is presented as seen on pages 130–131 of Memories of John Lennon, edited by Yoko Ono. 

More recently, another group of artists has taken to memorializing John Lennon. On November 2, 2023, the Beatles released what is being marketed as the “last Beatles song.” Though Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are the only two Beatles still alive, all four original members of the band do indeed appear on the track, with none other than Lennon on lead vocals. 

Originally recorded in 1974, the song existed as a demo only for nearly fifty years. In the mid-1990s, the three surviving Beatles, McCartney, Starr, and George Harrison, attempted to use this demo to create a “new” Beatles song to release alongside the two songs they ended up releasing in this period, “Real Love” and “Free as a Bird.” However, due to constraints presented by the technology of the period, they were unable to finish their work on “Now and Then.” That changed, though, in the early part of this decade, when filmmaker Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings trilogy fame) was working on the documentary The Beatles: Get Back (2021). 

For Get Back, Jackson helped develop and utilized state-of-the-art remastering techniques and AI technology in order to restore hundreds of hours of film and audio tape from January 1969, when the Beatles were working on what would become their final album, Let It Be (a note for hardcore Beatles fans: I know Abbey Road was recorded last; I am merely referring to album release chronology). At this time, McCartney and Starr approached Jackson to see if he would also be willing to take a stab at restoring Lennon’s “Now and Then” demo and splitting Lennon’s vocals and piano. Amazingly, Jackson was reportedly able to do that in mere minutes. 

With Jackson’s help, McCartney and Starr were finally able to complete this decades-old project. They each recorded backing vocals, Starr recorded a drum part, and McCartney took up the same bass guitar he used back in the 1960s. Tapes from the 1990s of Harrison, who passed away in 2001, were also used in the final version of “Now and Then,” and, in order to honor Harrison’s memory as well as Lennon’s, Paul McCartney recorded an electric slide guitar solo in his best approximation of Harrison’s style of playing, which can be seen in both the music video and the behind the scenes “making of” video for the song. 

“Now and Then,” like Memories of John Lennon, is a beautiful tribute to John Lennon. Each is sad, but indelibly marked with love, friendship, the pain of loss, and, most interestingly, hope, as well as the persistence of these things across time. Though Memories of John Lennon was released 25 years after his death, his friends were able to talk about him as if they’d only seen him a few days before and might even see him again before too long. In a similar vein, Ringo Starr said when he, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison were working on “Now and Then” the first time, they chose to pretend John Lennon was there, but had just stepped out of the room to get a cup of tea because that made working on his song a little easier. 

Now, 43 years on, we can hear the result of that in this “last Beatles song.” The age in McCartney and Starr’s voices contrasts starkly with the youth that persists in Lennon and Harrison’s, and in this way, we can hear friendship reaching across time as they sing together one last time, “Now and then, I miss you. Now and then, I want you to be there for me, always to return to me.”

Memories of John Lennon by Yoko Ono

ISBN: 0060594551

Publication Date: 2005-11-29

John Lennon . . . as much a part of our world today as he ever was He touched many lives in his brief forty years, and continues to move and inspire millions more to this day. Now, invited by Yoko Ono, friends, family, and fans from all walks of life--including some of the great artists of our day--reminisce about Lennon as a visionary and friend, musician and performer, husband and father, activist and jokester. In their own words and drawings, poems and photos, Lennon's life from his childhood through the Beatles years to the happiness and tragedy of his final days become stunningly vivid. Intimate glimpses gathered from musicians who knew John, such as Pete Townshend, Sir Elton John, Billy Preston, and Joan Baez; friends and relatives such as producer David Geffen, publicist Elliot Mintz, and cousin Mike Cadwallader; and artists who followed him such as Bono, Alicia Keys, Steve Earle, Jello Biafra, and Carlos Santana. And, for the first time, renowned photographer Annie Liebovitz presents every frame of the historic last session with John and Yoko. Memories of John Lennon is a rich and deeply felt appreciation of a truly great man.

 

Can't Stop the Grrrls by Lily E. Hirsch; Meshell Ndegeocello (Foreword by); Amy Ray (Afterword by)

ISBN: 9781538169063

Publication Date: 2023-03-15

"This is a convincing call to action." Publishers Weekly Words and labels can hurt us all. And for many female musicians, the wounds are everywhere. From stars like Britney Spears and Mariah Carey to classic icons like Yoko Ono, female musicians have long been the target of double standards and toxic labels in the media and pop culture: liar, crazy, snake, diva, slut, b*tch. These words hurt--the popular expression "sticks and stones" is wildly wrong. Lily Hirsch confronts the full range of this sexist labeling as well as the repercussions, concentrating on the experiences of Yoko Ono, Courtney Love, Britney Spears, FKA twigs, Taylor Swift, Kesha, Mariah Carey, and Ariana Grande, among many others. While men can make outrageous backstage demands, women like Carey are punished as "divas." A sign of supposed genius for men, "crazy" is a word of condemnation for many women--with legal ramifications in Spears' case. Hirsch dives into the world of these women, looking at their personal lives, relationships and breakups, music, media coverage, public reception, as well as the origins of these toxic labels and how they have caused serious damage. Can't Stop the Grrrls reveals the inner workings of misogyny and invites us to think about these remarkable women on their own terms--showing us how women have fought back too, sometimes reclaiming these words and their own stories through music.

I’m back! It has been several months since I last posted and that’s because I have been on maternity leave. I had my son in July and have been elbows deep in changing diapers, messed up sleep cycles, and trying to acclimate now to having a newborn and a toddler!

I haven’t had a lot of time to read and honestly, I haven’t had a lot of time to really do anything besides take care of my kids and try to keep my house together. Especially now that I am back at work, my free time is pretty much nonexistent. In trying to come up with something to blog about, I decided to write about what I know and to highlight books that discuss the very challenging, yet very rewarding topic of motherhood.

Motherhood is a real rollercoaster ride of emotions! It is the best job I’ve ever had and the most difficult. So, in my attempt to understand this evolving role I’ve taken on (for the second time around), and to spread awareness of what other moms are going through, I’ve compiled a list of books that discuss the joys and challenges of being a mother!

So, this list is for all the moms out there to feel seen and validated in what we do every day and to anyone who wants to better understand what it means to be a mom, here you go!

 

Twenty-First Century Motherhood by Andrea O'Reilly (Editor)

ISBN: 9780231149679

Publication Date: 2010-09-23

A pioneer of modern motherhood studies, Andrea O'Reilly explores motherhood's current representation and practice, considering developments that were unimaginable decades ago: the Internet, interracial surrogacy, raising transchildren, male mothering, intensive mothering, queer parenting, the applications of new biotechnologies, and mothering in the post-9/11 era. Her work pulls together a range of disciplines and themes in motherhood studies. She confronts the effects of globalization, HIV/AIDS, welfare reform, politicians as mothers, third wave feminism, and the evolving motherhood movement, and she incorporates Chicana, African-American, Canadian, Muslim, queer, low-income, trans, and lesbian perspectives.

Screaming on the Inside : the unsustainability of American motherhood by Jessica Grose

ISBN: 9780063078352

Publication Date: 2022-12-06

"If this book feels like it's sounding the alarm on the state of American motherhood, well, that's because it is." -- San Francisco Chronicle In this timely and necessary book, New York Times opinion writer Jessica Grose dismantles two hundred years of unrealistic parenting expectations and empowers today's mothers to make choices that actually serve themselves, their children, and their communities Close your eyes and picture the perfect mother. She is usually blonde and thin. Her roots are never showing and she installed that gleaming kitchen backsplash herself (watch her TikTok for DIY tips). She seamlessly melds work, wellness and home; and during the depths of the pandemic, she also ran remote school and woke up at 5 a.m. to meditate. You may read this and think it's bananas; you have probably internalized much of it. Journalist Jessica Grose sure had. After she failed to meet every one of her own expectations for her first pregnancy, she devoted her career to revealing how morally bankrupt so many of these ideas and pressures are. Now, in Screaming on the Inside, Grose weaves together her personal journey with scientific, historical, and contemporary reporting to be the voice for American parents she wishes she'd had a decade ago. The truth is that parenting cannot follow a recipe; there's no foolproof set of rules that will result in a perfectly adjusted child. Every parent has different values, and we will have different ideas about how to pass those values along to our children. What successful parenting has in common, regardless of culture or community, is close observation of the kind of unique humans our children are. In thoughtful and revelatory chapters about pregnancy, identity, work, social media, and the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic, Grose explains how we got to this moment, why the current state of expectations on mothers is wholly unsustainable, and how we can move towards something better.

 

Mommy Angst by Ann C. Hall (Editor); Mardia J. Bishop (Editor)

ISBN: 9780313375309

Publication Date: 2009-10-27

This revealing work looks at representations of motherhood from a wide range of pop culture sources to explore larger questions about the image and self-image of mothers in the United States. How has the popularity of Gilmore Girls influenced perspectives on teenage pregnancies? How did the mother-in-law assume such monstrous proportions? Did the Republicans' view of motherhood--and their continual hectoring of Hillary Clinton for putting ambition ahead of family--cost them the 2008 election? Mommy Angst: Motherhood in American Popular Culture considers questions like these as it probes our country's views on mothers, and how those views shape--and are shaped by--the habitually oversimplified portrayals of mothers in pop culture, politics, and the media. Mommy Angst gets at the heart of America's anxious ambivalence toward mothers--whether sanctifying them, vilifying them, or praising the ideal of motherhood while thoroughly undervaluing the complexities of their lives and their contributions to family and society. To highlight the many sides of motherhood, the collection contrasts the lives of a diverse range of real moms with their pop culture representations, including Jewish mothers, Cuban mothers, teenage mothers, mothers with disabilities, working versus stay-at-home moms, and more.

 

Modern Motherhood by Jodi Vandenberg-Daves

ISBN: 9780813563794

Publication Date: 2014-05-26

 How did mothers transform from parents of secondary importance in the colonies to having their multiple and complex roles connected to the well-being of the nation? In the first comprehensive history of motherhood in the United States, Jodi Vandenberg-Daves explores how tensions over the maternal role have been part and parcel of the development of American society.  Modern Motherhood travels through redefinitions of motherhood over time, as mothers encountered a growing cadre of medical and psychological experts, increased their labor force participation, gained the right to vote, agitated for more resources to perform their maternal duties, and demonstrated their vast resourcefulness in providing for and nurturing their families. Navigating rigid gender role prescriptions and a crescendo of mother-blame by the middle of the twentieth century, mothers continued to innovate new ways to combine labor force participation and domestic responsibilities. By the 1960s, they were poised to challenge male expertise, in areas ranging from welfare and abortion rights to childbirth practices and the confinement of women to maternal roles. In the twenty-first century, Americans continue to struggle with maternal contradictions, as we pit an idealized role for mothers in children's development against the social and economic realities of privatized caregiving, a paltry public policy structure, and mothers' extensive employment outside the home. Building on decades of scholarship and spanning a wide range of topics, Vandenberg-Daves tells an inclusive tale of African American, Native American, Asian American, working class, rural, and other hitherto ignored families, exploring sources ranging from sermons, medical advice, diaries and letters to the speeches of impassioned maternal activists. Chapter topics include: inventing a new role for mothers; contradictions of moral motherhood; medicalizing the maternal body; science, expertise, and advice to mothers; uplifting and controlling mothers; modern reproduction; mothers' resilience and adaptation; the middle-class wife and mother; mother power and mother angst; and mothers' changing lives and continuous caregiving. While the discussion has been part of all eras of American history, the discussion of the meaning of modern motherhood is far from over.

Mindful Motherhood by Cassandra Vieten; Sylvia Boorstein (Foreword by)

ISBN: 9781572246294

Publication Date: 2009-05-01

From hormones to stretch marks, labor pains to diaper changes, motherhood is an adventure like none other. The rapid changes in your body, your lifestyle, and your very identity call for a certain mental agility. Mindfulness can help you meet the challenge and approach every experience with your new baby with open eyes and an open heart. Easy ten-minute meditation exercises and yoga poses throughout this book will help you cultivate greater flexibility and mindful awareness during pregnancy, childbirth, and your baby's first year. Whenever you have a moment to spare, open Mindful Motherhood and discover a skill that will help you find balance and fulfillment during those times when you feel most overwhelmed. Co-published with the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS). Mindful Motherhood contains what so many other parenting books omit:: the consoling information that each mother has the ability to know, deep within, how to care for her child. Mindful Motherhood is a gem. -Christiane Northrup, MD, author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom Wise, soothing, and helpful-this is really good stuff for new mothers. -Jack Kornfield, author of The Wise Heart

Taking the Village Online by Lorin Basden Arnold; BettyAnn Martin

ISBN: 9781772580822

Publication Date: 2016-11-01

The rise of social media has changed how we understand and enact relationships across our lives, including motherhood. The meanings and practices of mothering have been significantly impacted by the availability of communities found via forums, blogs, and sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as internet resources that function to inform maternal experience and self-concept (ex. motherhood websites, Pinterest, or YouTube). The village that now contributes to the mothering experience has grown exponentially, granting mothers access to interactional partners and knowledge never before available. This volume of works explores the impact of social media forms on our cultural understandings of motherhood and the ways that we communicate about the experience and practice of mothering.

 

Perfect Motherhood by Rima D. Apple; Rima Apple

ISBN: 0813539986

Publication Date: 2006-05-23

Parenting today is virtually synonymous with worry. We want to ensure that our children are healthy, that they get a good education, and that they grow up to be able to cope with the challenges of modern life. In our anxiety, we are keenly aware of our inability to know what is best for our children. When should we toilet train? What is the best way to encourage a fussy child to eat? How should we protect our children from disease and injury? Before the nineteenth century, maternal instinct--a mother's "natural know-how"--was considered the only tool necessary for effective childrearing. Over the past two hundred years, however, science has entered the realm of motherhood in increasingly significant ways.  In Perfect Motherhood, Rima D. Apple shows how the growing belief that mothers need to be savvy about the latest scientific directives has shifted the role of expert away from the mother and toward the professional establishment. Apple, however, argues that most women today are finding ways to negotiate among the abundance of scientific recommendations, their own knowledge, and the reality of their daily lives.

The Motherhood Business by Anne Teresa Demo (Editor, Contribution by); Jennifer L. Borda (Editor, Contribution by); Charlotte H. Kroløkke (Editor, Contribution by); Shira Chess (Contribution by); Kara N. Dillard (Contribution by); K. Animashaun Ducre (Contribution by); Lisa A. Flores (Contribution by); Cynthia Gordon (Contribution by); Christine Harold (Contribution by); Sara E. Hayden (Contribution by); Karen Hvidtfeldt Madsen (Contribution by)

ISBN: 9780817318901

Publication Date: 2015-11-13

The Motherhood Business is a piercing collection of ten original essays that reveal the rhetoric of the motherhood industry. Focusing on the consumer life of mothers and the emerging entrepreneurship associated with motherhood, the collection considers how different forms of privilege (class, race, and nationality) inform discourses about mothering, consumption, mobility, and leisure.   The Motherhood Business follows the harried mother?s path into the anxious maelstrom of intelligent toys, healthy foods and meals, and educational choices. It also traces how some enterprising mothers leverage cultural capital and rhetorical vision to create thriving baby- and child-based businesses of their own, as evidenced by the rise of mommy bloggers and ?mompreneurs?over the last decade.   Starting with the rapidly expanding global fertility market, The Motherhood Business explores the intersection of motherhood, consumption, and privilege in the context of fertility tourism, international adoption, and transnational surrogacy. The synergy between motherhood and the marketplace demonstrated across the essays affirms the stronghold of ?intensive mothering ideology? in decisions over what mothers buy and how they brand their businesses even as that ideology evolves. Across diverse contexts, the volume also identifies how different forms or privilege shape how mothers construct their identities through their consumption and entrepreneurship.   Although social observers have long commented on the link between motherhood and consumerism, little has been written within the field of rhetoric. Penetrating and interdisciplinary, The Motherhood Business illuminates how consumer culture not only shapes contemporary motherhood but also changes in response to mothers who constitute a driving force of the economy.

 

Perfect Madness by Judith Warner

ISBN: 9781594481703

Publication Date: 2006-02-07

A lively and provocative look at the modern culture of motherhood and at the social, economic, and political forces that shaped current ideas about parenting What is wrong with this picture? That's the question Judith Warner asks in this national bestseller after taking a good, hard look at the world of modern parenting--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 join friends in the evening for dinner or to go on dates with their husbands. When she returned to the States, she was stunned by the cultural differences she found toward how people think about effective parenting--in particular, assumptions about motherhood. None of the mothers she met seemed happy; instead, they worried about the possibility of not having the perfect child, panicking as each developmental benchmark approached. Combining close readings of mainstream magazines, TV shows, and pop culture with a thorough command of dominant ideas in recent psychological, social, and economic theory, Perfect Madness addresses our cultural assumptions, and examines the forces that have shaped them. Working in the tradition of classics like Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique and Christopher Lasch's The Culture of Narcissism, and with an awareness of a readership that turned recent hits like The Bitch in the House and Allison Pearson's I Don't Know How She Does It into bestsellers, Warner offers a context in which to understand parenting culture and the way we live, as well as ways of imagining alternatives--actual concrete changes--that might better our lives.

 

Mom by Rebecca Jo Plant

ISBN: 9780226670201

Publication Date: 2010-03-30

  In the early twentieth century, Americans often waxed lyrical about "Mother Love," signaling a conception of motherhood as an all-encompassing identity, rooted in self-sacrifice and infused with social and political meaning. By the 1940s, the idealization of motherhood had waned, and the nation's mothers found themselves blamed for a host of societal and psychological ills. In Mom, Rebecca Jo Plant traces this important shift by exploring the evolution of maternalist politics, changing perceptions of the mother-child bond, and the rise of new approaches to childbirth pain and suffering. Plant argues that the assault on sentimental motherhood came from numerous quarters. Male critics who railed against female moral authority, psychological experts who hoped to expand their influence, and women who strove to be more than wives and mothers--all for their own distinct reasons--sought to discredit the longstanding maternal ideal. By showing how motherhood ultimately came to be redefined as a more private and partial component of female identity, Plant illuminates a major reorientation in American civic, social, and familial life that still reverberates today.