A Good Mother

A Good Mother
Author: Lara Bazelon
Publisher: Harlequin
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2021-05-11
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0369703146

“The courtroom scenes are sharp and suspenseful, the twists in the plot are unexpected, and the tension ratchets up until we are truly eager to find out what happens.” -New York Times Book Review A Library Journal Best Debut Novel of Spring and Summer 2021 A gripping debut thriller about two young mothers, one shocking murder and a court case that puts them both on trial. When a soldier is found stabbed through the heart at a US Army base, there is no doubt that his wife, Luz, is to blame. But was it an act of self-defense? An attempt to save her infant daughter? Or the cold-blooded murder of an innocent man? Ambitious public defender Abby is determined to win at all costs. As a new mother herself, she wants to keep Luz out of prison and with her daughter. But when the surprises stack up and shocking new evidence emerges, Abby realizes the task proves far more difficult than she suspected and will require a terrible sacrifice. As the trial hurtles toward an outcome no one expects, Abby, Luz and a captivated jury are forced to answer the question that will decide everything—what does it mean to be a good mother? “Lara Bazelon combines a riveting courtroom thriller with a nuanced and thought-provoking examination of gender, race, and justice. Helmed by an intelligent, complex, and flawed protagonist, A Good Mother is a beautifully written debut that kept me turning the pages late into the night.” —Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek "Sexy, shrewd, and wholly contemporary, A Good Mother takes pitch-perfect characters, a page-whipping plot, and themes about marriage, lust, betrayal, and the juggling of new motherhood plus a hard-driving career and mixes it all into a deeply perceptive legal thriller that made me drop everything else and just READ." —Cathi Hanauer, New York Times bestselling author of Gone, The Bitch in the House and The Bitch Is Back

The Good Mother Myth

The Good Mother Myth
Author: Avital Norman Nathman
Publisher: Seal Press
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2013-12-31
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 1580055036

In an era of mommy blogs, Pinterest, and Facebook, The Good Mother Myth dismantles the social media-fed notion of what it means to be a "good mother." This collection of essays takes a realistic look at motherhood and provides a platform for real voices and raw stories, each adding to the narrative of motherhood we don't tend to see in the headlines or on the news. From tales of mind-bending, panic-inducing overwhelm to a reflection on using weed instead of wine to deal with the terrible twos, the honesty of the essays creates a community of mothers who refuse to feel like they're in competition with others, or with the notion of the ideal mom—they're just trying to find a way to make it work. With a foreword by Christy Turlington Burns and a contributor list that includes Jessica Valenti, Sharon Lerner, Soraya Chemaly, Amber Dusick and many more, this remarkable collection seeks to debunk the myth and offer some honesty about what it means to be a mother.

The Best Mother

The Best Mother
Author: Cynthia Surrisi
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2018-04-03
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1683351290

When Maxine wakes up on the wrong side of the bed one morning, she wonders if the problem might be her mother. What if she could try out a new mom who doesn’t make her brush her teeth or comb her hair? Enlisting Mom to help her with the search, Maxine interviews various prospects to be her new mother at the park, the toy store, and the zoo. Unfortunately, these other mothers present a host of new problems and concerns. Maybe her “old mother” was the best mother of all? For every child who’s ever wondered if the grass is greener, The Best Mother affirms that there’s nothing better than your own mother’s love.

Mad Mothers, Bad Mothers, and What a "Good" Mother Would Do

Mad Mothers, Bad Mothers, and What a
Author: Sarah LaChance Adams
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2014-05-20
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0231166753

When a mother kills her child, we call her a bad mother, but, as this book shows, even mothers who intend to do their children harm are not easily categorized as ÒmadÓ or Òbad.Ó Maternal love is a complex emotion rich with contradictory impulses and desires, and motherhood is a conflicted state in which women constantly renegotiate the needs mother and child, the self and the other. Applying care ethics philosophy and the work of Emmanuel Levinas, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Simone de Beauvoir to real-world experiences of motherhood, Sarah LaChance Adams throws the inherent tensions of motherhood into sharp relief, drawing a more nuanced portrait of the mother and child relationship than previously conceived. The maternal example is particularly instructive for ethical theory, highlighting the dynamics of human interdependence while also affirming separate interests. LaChance Adams particularly focuses on maternal ambivalence and its morally productive role in reinforcing the divergence between oneself and others, helping to recognize the particularities of situation, and negotiating the difference between oneÕs own needs and the desires of others. She ultimately argues maternal filicide is a social problem requiring a collective solution that ethical philosophy and philosophies of care can inform.

Good-Enough Mother

Good-Enough Mother
Author: René Syler
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2007-03-27
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 141695127X

In an ideal world, mothers would have time to hand-sew their kids' costumes for the school play, prepare all-organic meals, and volunteer in the classroom at the drop of a hat. In reality, most moms have to settle for plopping their little ones in front of SpongeBob so that they can prepare yet another chicken nugget-based dinner, guiltily convinced they're falling down on the job. In Good-Enough Mother, René Syler pulls back the curtain to reveal the truth about modern mothering and reassure time-stressed moms that even if their children are strangers to made-from-scratch cookies, they can emerge as happy, well-adjusted, fully functioning members of society. Mother to two great kids of her own, Syler explains how she learned to chuck perfection for practicality -- in short, how she became a Good-Enough Mother. She shows other women seeking to balance family, work, and some semblance of a personal life how to happily join the ranks of Good-Enough Mothers, who occasionally serve breakfast for dinner yet give their children plenty of what really matters -- love, time, and support. Each essay provides welcome empathy and sage advice on navigating life's different obstacles, whether it's dealing with annoying Supermoms, bluffing through a third grader's math homework, or coping with the words that strike terror into every parent's heart ("Your son's teacher on line one"). Offering real wisdom tempered with humor and warmth, Good-Enough Mother will have every modern mom laughing in relief and recognition.

Good Mother, Bad Mother

Good Mother, Bad Mother
Author: Gina Ford
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2012-03-31
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 1448146046

Pressurised by the media, scrutinised by their peers, frowned upon even by those closest to them, mothers today face relentless criticism and pressure. Breast or bottle? Work or stay at home? Routine or feeding-on-demand? The choices are infinite and at the heart of each question is the more controversial and divisive debate of what makes a good mother. Good Mother, Bad Mother is an illuminating, moving and thought-provoking study of this enigmatic question. Never before has the subject of motherhood been tackled with such unflinching honesty. Drawing on her experience of thousands of mothers, bestselling parenting author Gina Ford has turned her attention to the women charged with bringing up the next generation. She addresses the challenges of contemporary motherhood and fervently argues that these awe-inspiring women seldom receive the support, respect and admiration they deserve. And for the first time, in a candid, personal account, Gina interweaves stories from her own childhood, revealing how her relationship with her own mother has shaped the choices she has made. Any woman who has ever doubted her capabilities as a mother will find comfort and reassurance in the insights of the woman whose books have been justly described a 'godsend'.

The Good Mother

The Good Mother
Author: Rae Cairns
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2022-04-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1460714814

'This story wouldn't let me go' Michael Robotham 'Fierce, action-packed ... A wild, original ride from start to finish' Sarah Bailey 'Taut, propulsive ... Brilliant' Anna Downes Shortlisted for the 2021 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction She's protected them from the truth. Can she save them from her past? Sarah Calhoun is a regular Sydney soccer mum, but she's keeping terrifying secrets from everyone she loves . . . and her past is about to catch up with her. When two men from Northern Ireland hunt her down, she's forced to return to Belfast to testify at a murder trial. Caught in the crossfire of an obsessive policeman driven by a disturbing past, and a brutal IRA executioner, Sarah faces an impossible choice: lie and allow a killer to walk free, or tell the truth and place her children in the line of fire. With her family and innocent people at risk, Sarah must find the courage to fight for the truth. But righting the wrongs of the past just might cost her everything . . . This fast-paced, explosive thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat to its gripping finale. 'Show me a soldier who would fight harder than a mother to save her son.' PRAISE 'Past and present collide on and off the page in this explosive debut' Sunday Telegraph 'The kind of book the phrase 'nail-biting' was made for ... Genuinely terrifying' Books and Publishing 'Fierce, action-packed ... A wild, original ride from start to finish' Sarah Bailey 'This taut, propulsive debut celebrates female strength and speaks to the extraordinary courage and resilience of mothers everywhere ... Brilliant' Anna Downes 'This page-turning thriller packs a powerful punch. A rock-solid five-star read' Sara Foster 'Fans of Dervla McTiernan will love this rollercoaster ride of a crime novel where a violent past returns to threaten an uneasy peace. I inhaled it.' Aoife Clifford 'Surprising, moving and utterly heart-stopping. A stunning, thought-provoking debut' Kathryn Heyman 'A gripping page-turner. I was hooked from the first page until the final twist' Tim Ayliffe

The Good Mother

The Good Mother
Author: Susan Goodwin
Publisher: Sydney University Press
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2010-09-21
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 1743320973

Although the ideals of the 'good mother' change with time, fashion and context, they persist in public policy, the media, popular culture and workplaces; placing pressure on women to conform to particular standards, against which they are judged and judge themselves.The Good Mother demonstrates that prevailing ideas about mothers and motherhood continue to influence the way 'types' of women are represented and the way that all mothers think, act and present themselves.

Living in the Shadow of the Too-Good Mother Archetype

Living in the Shadow of the Too-Good Mother Archetype
Author: Patti Ashley
Publisher:
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2014-03
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 9781939288233

LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF THE TOO-GOOD MOTHER ARCHETYPE is a journey into the heart and soul of mothering. It takes you to places thathave remained hidden due to out-dated beliefs about what it means to be a good mother. The book reveals the truth about being a good enough mother and dispels the myths of being a perfect parent. Based on 32 years of working in pediatric, mental health and public education settings; a doctoral dissertation; and experience of raising four children, Dr. Patti Ashley has written a book that transforms how women feel about themselves as mothers. "The problem that has no name." In 1963 Betty Friedan's book THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE revealed that many mothers were feelingempty, incomplete and invisible, whichFriedan labeled "the problem that has no name." Even though times have changed quite a bit since 1963, a2008 study by Maria Shriver, and the Center for American Progress, revealed that many women still express similar feelings of isolation and emptiness. (The Shriver Report) LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF THE TOO-GOOD MOTHER ARCHETYPE is a book that helps women connect more deeply to themselves and others, therefore feeling more authentic, mindful and whole. It weaves real stories and common themes into archetypal mythology and the rapidly changing roles of women, creating the foundation of a new parenting paradigm."