Aunting : Cultural Practices That Sustain Family and Community Life

by Ellingson, Laura L.

• ISBN13: 9781602581524
• ISBN10: 1602581525
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-08-15
• Publisher: Baylor Univ Pr

Summary

Whether related by biology, marriage, circumstance, or choice, aunts embody a uniquely flexible familial role. The aunt-niece/nephew relationshipthough often overlookedis critical and complex, one that appears at the core of a resilient, healthy family life.In this engaging book, Laura Ellingson and Patricia Sotirin construct a consideration of "aunts" that moves from noun to verb. "Aunts" is more than a group of people or a role; instead, "to aunt" is a practice, something people "do." Some women "aunt" as second mothers, friends, or mentors, while others play more peripheral roles. In either case, aunts nonetheless significantly impact their nieces and nephews' life choices.Drawing on personal narratives that represent a rich cross section of society, Ellingson and Sotirin construct a cohesive story of the diversity of aunting experiences in the contemporary United States. Skillfully written, Aunting recovers the enormous potential of this dynamic kinship relationship and offers a model for understanding and supporting the variety of families in society today.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction: Why Aunts?	p. 1
Caring for Kin	p. 15
Constructing Kin	p. 39
Aunts at a Distance	p. 65
My Auntie, My Self	p. 97
Mentoring and Modeling	p. 125
Carrying on the Family	p. 149
Conclusion: Aunting in the 21st Century	p. 169
Appendix: Methodology	p. 179
Notes	p. 185
References	p. 201
Index	p. 219
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