Mother Reader

In memoirs, testimonials, diaries, essays, and fiction, 30 women writers describe the changes wrought upon their lives by pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering. Because many of the contributors are writers ? including Annie Ernaux, Adrienne Rich, and Sara Ruddick ? the intersection of motherhood and [...]
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In memoirs, testimonials, diaries, essays, and fiction, 30 women writers describe the changes wrought upon their lives by pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering. Because many of the contributors are writers ? including Annie Ernaux, Adrienne Rich, and Sara Ruddick ? the intersection of motherhood and the creative life is an ongoing theme. Many of the writers articulate maternal anger and ambivalence, such as Jane Lazarre in ?The Mother Knot,? and others question why, if it is so hard, women continue to have babies, such as the childless-by-choice Mary Gaitskill in ?A Woman?s Prerogative.? Selections also include Margaret Atwood?s elusive story ?Giving Birth?; excerpts from Sylvia Plath?s passionate diaries and Tillie Olsen?s ground-breaking Silences; and Mary Kelly?s precise and intimate recordings of her son?s early years from her epic artwork Post-Partum Document. The book also features literary criticism.