Synopses & Reviews
Winner of the 2008 Outstanding Book Award by the Academy of Criminal Justice SciencesMichelle Oberman and Cheryl L. Meyer don’t write for news magazines or prime-time investigative television shows, but the stories they tell hold the same fascination. When Mothers Kill is compelling. In a clear, direct fashion the authors recount what they have learned from interviewing women imprisoned for killing their children. Readers will be shocked and outragedas much by the violence the women have endured in their own lives as by the violence they engaged inbut they will also be informed and even enlightened.
Oberman and Meyer are leading authorities on their subject. Their 2001 book, Mothers Who Kill Their Children, drew from hundreds of newspaper articles as well as from medical and social science journals to propose a comprehensive typology of maternal filicide. In that same year, driven by a desire to test their typologyand to better understand child-killing women not just as types but as individualsOberman and Meyer began interviewing women who had been incarcerated for the crime. After conducting lengthy, face-to-face interviews with forty prison inmates, they returned and selected eight women to speak with at even greater length. This new book begins with these stories, recounted in the matter-of-fact words of the inmates themselves.
There are collective themes that emerge from these individual accounts, including histories of relentless interpersonal violence, troubled relationships with parents (particularly with mothers), twisted notions of romantic love, and deep conflicts about motherhood. These themes structure the books overall narrative, which also includes an insightful examination of the social and institutional systems that have failed these women. Neither the mothers nor the authors offer these stories as excuses for these crimes.
Review
“Oberman and Meyer’s investigation of the convicted womens traumatic personal histories offers readers an opportunity to separate the women who command our pity from their crimes.”
-The Chronicle of Higher Education,
Review
“This is the first book that analyzes the subjective perceptions of incarcerated mothers convicted of killing their children. It provides an extraordinarily insightful humanizing view of how these pariahs adapt to prison and make sense of their crimes.”
-Phillip J. Resnick, M.D.,Case Western Reserve University
Review
“Those working in social services could benefit from reading this book. Perhaps teaching women about abuse early in their lives or providing them with more domestic abuse resources can help prevent future such cases.”
-Library Journal,
Review
Oberman and Meyer’s investigation of the convicted women’s traumatic personal histories offers readers an opportunity to separate the women who command our pity from their crimes. - The Chronicle of Higher Education
Review
This is the first book that analyzes the subjective perceptions of incarcerated mothers convicted of killing their children. It provides an extraordinarily insightful humanizing view of how these pariahs adapt to prison and make sense of their crimes. - Phillip J. Resnick, M.D., Case Western Reserve University
Review
“From abortion laws to health care access, she (Oberman) said the social conditions that drive a mother to kill are too complicated to quantify.”
-Newsday,
Review
“Those working in social services could benefit from reading this book. Perhaps teaching women about abuse early in their lives or providing them with more domestic abuse resources can help prevent future such cases.”
- Library Journal
“Oberman and Meyer’s investigation of the convicted womens traumatic personal histories offers readers an opportunity to separate the women who command our pity from their crimes.”
- The Chronicle of Higher Education
“The authors do not present this abuse as an excuse for their behavior. Rather, they show how the abuse fits into a larger picture of isolation and limited prospects for a better life. Readers come away with a clear sense of how little these women had in the way of social support that might have helped them cope with the demands of motherhood, and are left to ponder the culpability of those who were in a position to provide this social support, but did not.”
- Choice
“This is the first book that analyzes the subjective perceptions of incarcerated mothers convicted of killing their children. It provides an extraordinarily insightful humanizing view of how these pariahs adapt to prison and make sense of their crimes.”
- Phillip J. Resnick, M.D., Case Western Reserve University
“From abortion laws to health care access, she (Oberman) said the social conditions that drive a mother to kill are too complicated to quantify.”
- Newsday
Review
"Powerful and judiciously researched,
When Mothers Kill blends personal stories with social science to offer insights on some truly disturbing crimes. In sharing the stories of these women, Michelle Oberman and Cheryl Meyer balance empathy with a realistic assessment of the context surrounding each crime."
“The interview data culled by Oberman and Meyer, coupled with their discerning discourse, are an invaluable contribution to the research literature appertaining to the crime of filicide.”
“Those working in social services could benefit from reading this book. Perhaps teaching women about abuse early in their lives or providing them with more domestic abuse resources can help prevent future such cases.”
“Oberman and Meyer’s investigation of the convicted women’s traumatic personal histories offers readers an opportunity to separate the women who command our pity from their crimes.”
“The authors do not present this abuse as an excuse for their behavior. Rather, they show how the abuse fits into a larger picture of isolation and limited prospects for a better life. Readers come away with a clear sense of how little these women had in the way of social support that might have helped them cope with the demands of motherhood, and are left to ponder the culpability of those who were in a position to provide this social support, but did not.”
Review
“An original, compelling, and convincing study of the Gullah religion . . .Creel's work is seminal.”
-Nathan B. Huggins,W. E. B. DuBois Professor of History and Afro-American Studies, Harvard University
Review
“Creel:s excellent book . . . will prompt informed discussions and broaden the debate about the roots of Afro-American religious and community patterns. Her imaginative study, rich in detail, will also introduce readers to one of the most singular groups and stirring stories in all of American history.”
-Peter H. Wood,Associate Professor of History, Duke University
Review
“The authors do not present this abuse as an excuse for their behavior. Rather, they show how the abuse fits into a larger picture of isolation and limited prospects for a better life. Readers come away with a clear sense of how little these women had in the way of social support that might have helped them cope with the demands of motherhood, and are left to ponder the culpability of those who were in a position to provide this social support, but did not.”
-Choice,
Synopsis
Meyer and Oberman--in their desire to better understand mothers who kill--recount their interviews with women imprisoned for maternal filicide and reveal the collective themes that emerge from the women's individual accounts.
Synopsis
A historical analysis of the Gullahs of South Carolina, and an imaginative and suggestive treatment of slave religion and social cohesion,
“A Peculiar People”: Slave Religion and Community-Culture Among The Gullahs examines the components that provided the Sea Island slave population with their cultural autonomy and sense of consciousness. The elements of community, religion, and resistance are examined in relationship to this unique people.
Margaret Creel traces three successive importations of slaves into the South Carolina coastal region, addressing each as a distinct period. She argues that the large numbers of slaves imported between 1749 and 1787 came predominantly from Senegambia, the Gold Coast, and Liberia. The majority of the Gullah population came from these areas of West Africa.
Combining anthropological and historical studies with observations, reports, manuscripts, and letters relating to the Gullahs, the book creates an original and exceptionally fascinating analysis of Gullah culture in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
About the Author
Michelle Oberman is Professor of Law at Santa Clara University School of Law.
Cheryl L. Meyer is Professor of Psychology at Wright State University School of Professional Psychology in Dayton, Ohio. She is also the author of The Wandering Uterus (NYU Press).