Finding Your Inner Mama Women Reflect on the Challenges and Rewards of Motherhood

by STEINBERG, EDEN

• ISBN13: 9781590304235
• ISBN10: 1590304233
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-07-10
• Publisher: Trumpeter

Summary

Motherhood can be one of the most intense and transformative experiences of a woman's life. While there are many books that offer the "do's and don'ts" of effective parenting, few offer guidance on navigating the tumultuous inner experience of being a mother, with all its joy, pain, change, and uncertainty. This collection of writing by psychologists, poets, novelists, spiritual teachers, and everyday moms explores the rich, transformative journey of motherhood. Poet and novelist Louise Erdrich captures the sheer wonder and awe of early motherhood. Self-described "hip momma" Ariel Gore reflects on the challenges of dealing with her daughter's adolescent rebellion. Journalist Joan Peters highlights the rise of the "Power Mom" and the risks of overparenting to our children and ourselves.Zen teacher Cheri Huber shares a spiritual perspective: sometimes it's us parents who need a "time out" so that we can be more fully present and loving with our children. Previously published in hardcover under the title Your Children Will Raise You.

Author Biography

Eden Steinberg is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Divinity School. She works as a book editor and lives in the Boston area with her husband and two sons.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. xi
The Reality of Being a Mother
Writings from a Birth Year	p. 3
A Crash Course in Vulnerability and Other Lessons	p. 13
Anger and Tenderness	p. 26
Giving Birth to Ambivalence	p. 32
My Daughter at Fourteen	p. 39
The Way I Dreamed It	p. 43
One Week until College	p. 50
The Inner Work of Motherhood
Dawn	p. 59
Children as Spiritual Teachers	p. 68
Responding to "Bad" Behavior	p. 76
Parenting with Mindful Awareness	p. 90
Recognizing Our Hidden Wounds	p. 99
The Sacred Chaos of Parenthood	p. 114
"Exceptional" Mothering in a "Normal" World	p. 126
Why Is Being a Mother So Hard?
Guilt-What It Does to Us	p. 147
The New Momism	p. 157
Power Moms and the Problem of Overparenting	p. 176
Claiming the Joy	p. 189
Finding Balance
Tell Your Secrets	p. 203
Simplicity	p. 207
I'm Breathing, Are You?	p. 214
Good-bye Herd	p. 225
Time-Out for Parents	p. 235
Sitting in Happy	p. 244
Contributors	p. 247
Credits	p. 253
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