The Maternal Is Political: Women Writers at the Intersection of Motherhood & Social Change
Edited by Shari MacDonald Strong
Seal Press
352 pgs, $15.95
ISBN: 1-58005-243-6
Something definitely changes when you become MOTHER. Besides all the physical,emotional and mental aspects; the sleepless nights, cranky babies, the thought of being able to fit into your pre-baby jeans. You become more aware of the world and your place in it, of what is happening around you. You see things with a mother’s eye. One of the essays, In Albania, by Mona Gable, captures this new view absolutely. Here she recounts her time in Albania as a reporter during the Kosovo conflict-Balkan wars with the new eyes of a mother: “The lens of motherhood would filter everything I was to witness…..”.
There were a few other essays that affected me personally. Ona Gritz’s Because I’m Not Dead, recalling her own experiences with disability while caring for her child; Amy Jenkins’ One Hundred and Twenty-Five Miles, Helaine Olen’s The Mean Moms where she tackles the old ‘mama clique’ subject; and Mona Gable’s essay mentioned above, all resonated with me on different levels.
Among the contributors, I was happy to see I recognized all the names, having read their work someplace else or read about them in the newspapers (most likely CNN or elsewhere across the Internet); as well as having worked with a few.
Overall, it is a very necessary book- very emotional, very raw- necessary reading for every mother. If you haven’t done so already, pick up this book and read it!
You are sure to find your own voice resonating with these great women.
The Maternal is Political at Amazon
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