Mothering Against the Odds Diverse Voices of Contemporary Mothers

by Garcia-Coll, Cynthia; Surrey, Janet L.; Weingarten, Kaethe

• ISBN13: 9781572303393
• ISBN10: 1572303395
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-04-18
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

We all know what a "good mother" looks like on television and in the popular imagination: typically she is white, heterosexual, and married, and devotes herself full-time to child care. But increasing numbers of women who mother today do not fit this narrow traditional image,and their different experiences of mothering are often maligned, misunderstood, or ignored.This compelling book presents the stories of diverse mothers whose life circumstances place
them outside the mainstream. Filled with the voices of the women themselves, chapters explore the lives of mothers of exceptional children and biracial children; mothers who seek closeness and connection with their adolescentchildren; mothers with HIV/AIDS; immigrant,
homeless, single, lesbian, adoptive, and teen mothers; African American mothers living in poverty; and mothers in prison. Their vivid, heartfelt accounts demonstrate the unique strengths of women struggling to overcome personal and societal barriers and take us beyond labeling entire groups of mothers as normal or deviant, "good" or "bad."

Author Biography

Cynthia Garcia Coll, PhD, is Professor of Education, Psychology, and Pediatrics at Brown University. She is the former Director of the Stone Center at Wellesley College.
Janet L. Surrey, PhD, is a Founding Scholar of the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute and Codirector of the Gender Relations Program at the Stone Center, Wellesley College, and attending psychologist at McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Kathy Weingarten, PhD, is Codirector of the Program in Narrative Therapies at The Family Institute of Cambridge and Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Sidelined No More: Promoting Mothers of Adolescents as a Resource for Their Growth and Development

"Exceptional" Mothering in a "Normal" World, Miriam Greenspan

Homeless: Mothering at Rock Bottom

Immigrant Mothers: What Makes Them High Risk?

Yes, I Am a Swan: Reflections on Families Headed

Safeguardi

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