Making Sense of Motherhood: A Narrative Approach

by Tina Miller

• ISBN13: 9780521835725
• ISBN10: 0521835720
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-03-21
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Becoming a mother changes lives in many ways and this original and accessible book explores how women try to make sense of, and narrate their experiences of first-time motherhood in the Western world. Tina Miller pays close attention to women's own accounts, over time, of their experiences of transition to motherhood and shows how myths of motherhood continue because women do not feel able to voice their early (often difficult) experiences of mothering. The book charts the social, cultural and moral contours of contemporary motherhood and engages with sociological and feminist debates on how selves are constituted, maintained and narrated. Drawing on original research and narrative theory, the book also explores the disjuncture that often exists between personal experience and public discourse and the cultural dimensions of expert knowledge.

Table of Contents

Dedication	vii
Acknowledgements	viii
Introduction	1	(5)
1 The storied human life: a narrative approach	6	(21)
2 Making sense of motherhood: cultural scripts	27	(19)
3 Setting the Western context: mothering in late-modern society	46	(20)
4 Anticipating motherhood: the antenatal period	66	(23)
5 Making sense of early mothering experiences	89	(23)
6 A return to normal: becoming the expert	112	(26)
7 Conclusions and reflections: making sense of motherhood	138	(24)
References	162	(10)
Index	172