The Mother Dance

by Lerner, Harriet Goldhor

• ISBN13: 9780060930257
• ISBN10: 006093025X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-05-01
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

From the celebrated author of The Dance of Anger comes an extraordinary book about mothering and how it transforms us -- and all our relationships -- inside and out. Written from her dual perspective as a psychologist and a mother, Lerner brings us deeply personal tales that run the gamut from the hilarious to the heart-wrenching. From birth or adoption to the empty nest, The Mother Dance teaches the basic lessons of motherhood: that we are not in control of what happens to our children, that most of what we worry about doesn't happen, and that our children will love us with all our imperfections if we can do the same for them. Here is a gloriously witty and moving book about what it means to dance the mother dance.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: A Mother's Eye View of Mothering
Conception and Birth: A Crash Course in Vulnerability	p. 3
Are You Fit to Be a Mother?	p. 13
Bringing the Baby Home and Other Hazards of Parenting	p. 29
A Fork in the Road: His New Life and Your New Life	p. 51
Enough Guilt for Now, Thank You	p. 75
Will Your Child Become a Serial Killer?	p. 87
Ben's Earring and Other Power Struggles	p. 103
How to Talk to Kids You Can't Talk To	p. 129
Food and Sex: Passing Your Hang-ups Down the Line	p. 153
Your Daughter Is Watching You	p. 177
Raising a Mama's Boy? Go for It!	p. 195
Siblings: The Agony and the Glory	p. 209
Will Your Kids Be on Speaking Terms Twenty Years from Now?	p. 221
What Kind of Mother Ever Hates Her Children?	p. 241
What Stepmothers Are Stepping Into	p. 255
The Family Dance	p. 271
The Empty Nest - Hurrah!?	p. 287
Epilogue: Kids? Why Risk It?	p. 307
Notes	p. 311
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.