Synopses & Reviews
Truly inspirational and original, My Mother Was Right offers insights and strategies to redefine every woman's relationship with her mom. It focuses on the most fundamental and complicated connection of all--the mother-daughter relationship--to show that it is only after we learn to value, accept, and forgive our mothers that we are able to come to terms with ourselves.As babyboomer women reach middle age, they have come to realize that their mothers--the very same mothers who, just a few years ago, had such old-fashioned ideas and standards--may not be so out of touch after all. Written in the words of women from all walks of life--including a Pulitzer Prize winning author, an Episcopal minister, a federal judge, and a vice-president of General Motors--My Mother Was Right offers an intimate look at women's evolving relationships with their mothers. These midlife women talk about what it was like to grow up with two very different views of womanhood--Good Housekeeping magazine vs. Ms. magazine--and how, at long last, they are seeking resolution and a more meaningful relationship with their mothers.The women featured in the book speak with genuine appreciation about the lessons of self-reliance, education, spirituality, and thoughtfulness that were passed down from their mothers. Ironically, the most meaningful guidance they got from their moms is often the very advice they found so irritating when they were younger. The book also reveals the conflict women feel about the similarities they see between their mothers and themselves and the shock of realizing that the roles have been reversed in their relationships with their own daughters.
Review
"The authors' persistent willingness to find validity in the perspectives of mothers and daughters alike offers a model for those who hope to improve relations with their own parents or children."
"Like a bracing cup of hot tea, this book fortifies the soul. Daughters in midlife and their aging mothers will find much that is comforting." --Eleanor Clift, Newsweek
"This thoughtful book examines the complexities of the mother-daughter relationship, helping women recognize the profound impact of their mothers on their lives."
Synopsis
After growing up with two vigorously competing visions of womanhood, that of their mothers' family values conservatism and that of the 1960s bra-burning feminist movement, mid-life women now look for resolution. My Mother Was Right uncovers the middle ground for which these women search. After surveying 170 women across the United States and Canada, and interviewing such high-functioning women as author Carol Shields, a federal judge, and GM Vice President, Maureen Kepston Darkes, the authors examine perhaps the most fundamental and complicated relationship of them all. They show us that it is only after we come to terms with our mothers that we are able to come to terms with ourselves.
Synopsis
My Mother Was Right focuses on the most fundamental and complicated connection of all--the mother-daughter relationship--to show that it is only after we learn to value, accept, and forgive our mothers that we are able to come to terms with ourselves. This truly inspirational and original book is written in the words of women from all walks of life including a Pulitzer Prize winning author, an Episcopal minister, a federal judge, and a vice-president of General Motors.
Synopsis
Lessons learned from babyboomer women as they make peace with their mothersThis insightful and entertaining book shares the stories of 170 women from the U.S. and Canada who came of age in the 1960s. Recalling the turbulent relationships they had with their mothers, these middle-age women discover they are now grateful for the advice they resented most as young women."We are changing our minds about our mothers. It is now occurring to us that the person we rebelled against, whom we used as a role model of how we would not like to lead our lives, and who upheld outmoded ideas on the place a woman should take in society and how she should behave, may not have been entirely wrong. She was not necessarily absolutely correct . . . but certainly we have now begun to seek a reconciliation with her on matters great and small. . . . Her oft-repeated homilies, those sound bites of motherly wisdom, which at one time would have caused us to roll our eyes and feel intense irritation, have taken on meanings."?from the Preface
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-246) and index.
About the Author
BARBARA MCFARLAND has worked as a clinical psychologist and consultant specializing in women's mental health for the past twenty years. She is the author of numerous articles and books such as Shame and Body Image (Health Communications, 1990) and Brief Therapy and Eating Disorders (Jossey-Bass, 1995). VIRGINIA WATSON-ROUSLIN is an award winning freelance writer and a communications and marketing specialist. For nine years she was the political, economic, and public affairs officer for the Canadian Consulate's Office in Cincinnati.
Table of Contents
Part One: In the Beginning
1. The Journey
2. The Way They Were
Part Two: The Fruits of Their Labor
3. Always Have Something to Fall Back On
4. Stand On Your Own Two Feet
5. Just Wait Until You Have Children of Your Own
6. In God, All Things Are Possible
7. Manners Don't Cost Money
Part Three: A Bittersweet Harvest
8. An Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree
9. My Son Is My Son 'Til He Gets Him a Wife, But My Daughter's My Daughter All Her Life
10. You'll Never Miss the Water 'Til the Well Runs Dry, and You'll Never Miss Your Mother 'Til She's Gone
11. Coming Home
AppAndix A: Survey
AppAndix B: What Our Mothers Told Us: A Cliche for Every Occasion