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More copies of this ISBN:This title in other formats:Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Graceby Ayelet Waldman
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:In the tradition of recent hits like The Bitch in the House and Perfect Madness comes a hilarious and controversial book that every woman will have an opinion about, written by America's most outrageous writer. In our mothers' day there were good mothers, neglectful mothers, and occasionally great mothers. Today we have only Bad Mothers. If you work, you're neglectful; if you stay home, you're smothering. If you discipline, you're buying them a spot on the shrink's couch; if you let them run wild, they will be into drugs by seventh grade. If you buy organic, you're spending their college fund; if you don't, you're risking all sorts of allergies and illnesses. Is it any wonder so many women refer to themselves at one time or another as a bad mother? Ayelet Waldman says it's time for women to get over it and get on with it, in a book that is sure to spark the same level of controversy as her now legendary Modern Love piece, in which she confessed to loving her husband more than her children. Covering topics as diverse as the hysteria of competitive parenting (Whose toddler can recite the planets in order from the sun?), the relentless pursuits of the Bad Mother police, balancing the work-family dynamic, and the bane of every mother's existence (homework, that is), Bad Mother illuminates the anxieties that riddle motherhood today, while providing women with the encouragement they need to give themselves a break. Review:"Having aroused the ire of righteous mothers with her confession to loving her husband more than her children, Waldman (Love and Other Impossible Pursuits) offers similar boldface opinions in 18 rather defensive essays. The mother of four, living in Berkeley and married for 15 years to an ideal partner who told her on their first date that he wanted to be a stay-at-home husband and father (he also happens to be novelist Michael Chabon), Waldman was a Jewish girl who grew up in 1970s suburban New Jersey, where her mother introduced her to Free to Be You and Me and instilled in her the importance of becoming a working mother. With her supportive husband to manage the domestic drudgery, Waldman did pursue a law career, until she quit to be with her growing family. As a champion of 'bad mothering,' that is, dropping the metaphorical ball — making mistakes and forgiving yourself for it — Waldman writes in these well-fashioned essays how a mother's best intentions frequently go awry: she really meant to breastfeed, until one of her children was bottle-fed because of a palate abnormality; she denounced the playing of dodgeball in her children's school, out of her own memories of schoolyard humiliations; and she confesses to aborting a fetus who suffered a genetic defect. Her determinedly frank revelations are chatty and sure to delight the online groups she frequents." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:Ruth Reichl opened her first memoir, "Tender at the Bone," with a story about her late mother serving moldy food to guests at her brother's engagement party, a move that sent a couple dozen people to the hospital. Similar tales of her bipolar mother's bizarre forays animate Reichl's two other memoirs, "Comfort Me With Apples" (2001) and "Garlic and Sapphires" (2005). Miriam Reichl emerges from these... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) Review:“This is not only a wonderfully written book, but I think it may also be a book of great salvation for many women. Most of the mothers I know (the honest ones, the tired ones, the confused ones) will see themselves reflected in these wise pages, and will find long-overdue comfort here.” –Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love Synopsis:In the tradition of recent hits like The Bitch in the House and Perfect Madness comes a hilarious and controversial book that every woman will have an opinion on, written by America’s most notorious “Bad Mother.” When Ayelet Waldman polled an unscientific sampling of her friends and family, the consensus was that a Good Mother is all of the following: “She remembers to serve fruit at breakfast, is always cheerful and never yells, manages not to project her own neuroses and inadequacies onto her children, is an active and loved member of the community who volunteers, she remembers to make playdates, her children's clothes fit, she does art projects with them, and enjoys all their games. And she is never too tired for sex.” Is it any wonder so many women refer to themselves at one time or another as a “bad mother”? Ayelet says it’s time for women to get over it and get on with it. Covering topics as diverse as the hysteria of competitive parenting (whose toddler can recite the planets in order of their distance from the sun?), the relentless pursuits of the Bad Mother police, and the bane of every mother’s existence (homework, that is), Bad Mother illuminates the anxieties that riddle motherhood today, while providing women with the encouragement they need to give themselves a break. About the AuthorAYELET WALDMAN is the author of Daughter’s Keeper and Love and Other Impossible Pursuits. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Salon, New York, Elle, Vogue, and other publications. She and her husband, the novelist Michael Chabon, live in Berkeley, California, with their four children. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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