HACKER SAFE certified sites prevent over 99.9% of hacker crime.
RELATED AISLES

Neal Stephenson Read our exclusive interview with Neal Stephenson and save 30% on Anathem.

Anathem $20.96
Hardcover Add to Cart



 
Ships free on qualified orders.
$9.95
List price: 23.00
You save: $13.05
HARDCOVER, USED
Usually ships in 5 to 7 business days
Add to Wishlist
available for shipping or prepaid pickup only
Qty Store Section
1 Remote Warehouse Child Care and Parenting- Mothering
Hide store locations


Unraveled
by Maria Housden

Unraveled Cover

About This Book

ISBN13: 9781400054169
ISBN10: 1400054168
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Only 1 left in stock at $9.95!

Review-a-Day   (What is Review-a-Day?)

"Tissues in hand, I decided that because of her unflinching service to this extraordinary child — and the fact that she has written about the experience with such precision and ultimate optimism — Housden is a mother who deserves a major sabbatical, if not actually carte blanche....But as I finished Unraveled, I was weeping again, this time in frustration. Because now, horribly, I was being moved to unintended laughter by some of the writing, and was finding the confluence of emotions quite nauseating." Sandra Tsing Loh, the Atlantic Monthly (read the entire Atlantic Monthly review)

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

As a 12-year-old girl, Maria Housden's vision of a happy future included everything that society expects girls to yearn for: a home, a husband, and, of course, children. Reality turned out differently for Housden in ways that she could not control, but also as the result of one crucial decision she made for herself. After her young daughter Hannah died, Housden chose to divorce her husband and give him primary custody of their three surviving children. Although divorced fathers make this arrangement every day — and in spite of the progress of women regarding their right to shape their own lives — Housden's decision remains controversial and even shocking in the eyes of many.

In Unraveled, Housden writes about the emotional reckoning that led to her decision and the ways she has strived to be the best mother she can be to her children while living apart from them. With fierce honesty and the same gift for poignantly beautiful writing that she demonstrated in the bestselling Hannah's Gift, Housden makes a valuable contribution to our collective conversation about mothering, marriage, and the assumptions we make about the way life is supposed to be.

Review:

"Housden found motherhood a continual struggle. She yearned to be the dutiful and diligent wife her demanding husband, Claude, wanted. When their second child, three-year-old Hannah, developed cancer, Housden's dreams of a perfect life vanished. Hannah's death soon after the birth of Housden's third child provoked a renewed desire to rectify her marital problems, and she and Claude had a fourth baby. But the wounds of Hannah's death hadn't healed for either parent. And then Housden (Hannah's Gift) met writer Roger Housden and found joy for the first time in years. She divorced Claude and allowed him primary custody of their children, believing that would allow her to be a more loving, attentive mother. Housden's emotional tale alternates between past and present, exploring her choices and revealing her determination to succeed as a writer. Throughout, Hannah's influence over Housden is palpable, and the sections relating to Hannah have the most resonance. With a stronger sense of self, Housden moved cross-country to live with Roger, visiting her children on weekends. Housden's poignant, raw book has no easy answers for life's difficult moments, but her bravery will soothe those enduring similar trials. Agent, BG Dilworth. (June 7)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

“Maria Housden probes the rewarding/maddening underside of what it means to be a wife and mother. In her brave quest for self-fulfillment, she empowers others to challenge expectations. Her gentle wisdom is a gift to us all.” —Suzy Farbman, author of Back from Betrayal

Review:

“Unraveled does for mothers everywhere what M. Scott Peck did for truth seekers in The Road Less Traveled. Absolutely brilliant.” —Mark Matousek, author of Sex Death Enlightenment and The Boy He Left Behind

Synopsis:

As a twelve-year-old girl, Maria Housden’s vision of a happy future included everything that society expects girls to yearn for: a home, a husband, and, of course, children. Life had other plans.

Unraveled is Housden’s riveting and thoughtful story of how, after the death of her young daughter, she found the courage to break away from her role as a wife and stay-at-home mom and strike out on her own in search of a more fulfilling life. Leaving her three surviving children in the primary custody of her husband, Housden faced down the disbelief of friends and family and began a journey that would ultimately lead her not only to the truth about herself, but also to a deeper and more loving connection with her children.

Housden writes about the emotional reckoning that led to her decision and the ways in which she has become the best mother she can be while no longer living with her children full-time. With fierce honesty and the same gift for poignantly beautiful writing that she demonstrated in the bestselling Hannah’s Gift, Housden makes a valuable contribution to our collective conversation about mothering, marriage, and the assumptions we make about the way life is supposed to be. Unraveled is the remarkable story of one woman’s choice not to live every girl’s dream . . . and instead to find her own.

back to top

About the Author

Maria Housden is an author and lecturer. She and her husband, Roger Housden, live in New York and New Jersey. Her first book, Hannah’s Gift: Lessons from a Life Fully Lived, has become an inter-national bestseller, translated into more than fifteen foreign languages.
back to top

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
cynthiaparker, May 18, 2008 (view all comments by cynthiaparker)
Some women (as wives and mothers) are currently being plucked out of our patriarchal culture in order to develop a new paradigm of the feminine which has been so reviled, marginalised and proscribed by the patriarchy over the last 2000 years. Sometimes even women themselves are the mouth pieces, unwittingly of the patriarchy. These women can only do this work out of the authentic self which usually means abandoning the positions of role bound mother and wife. The journey is a terrifying one as the goal is often hardly in sight; one's inner light illuminates the darkness of the way.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
back to top

Product Details

ISBN:
9781400054169
Subtitle:
The True Story of a Woman Who Dared to Become a Different Kind of Mother
Author:
Housden, Maria
Publisher:
Harmony
Subject:
General
Subject:
Women
Subject:
Motherhood
Subject:
Divorce
Subject:
Parenting - Single Parenting
Subject:
Parental Memoirs
Subject:
Children of divorced parents
Subject:
Divorced people
Subject:
Personal Memoirs
Subject:
Parenting - Single Parent
Subject:
Parenting - Motherhood
Publication Date:
May 2005
Binding:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
274
Dimensions:
7.92x5.28x1.04 in. .85 lbs.
back to top