Motherless Mothers
Synopsis:
When Hope Edelman, author of the New York Times bestseller Motherless Daughters, became a parent, she found herself revisiting the loss of her mother in ways she had never anticipated. Now the mother of two young girls, Edelman set out to learn how the loss of a mother to death or abandonment can affect the ways women raise their own children.
In Motherless Mothers, Edelman uses her own story as a prism to reveal the unique anxieties and desires that these women experience as they raise their children without the help of a living maternal guide. In an impeccably researched, luminously written book enriched by the voices of the mothers themselves—and filled with practical insight and advice from experienced professionals—she examines their parenting choices, their triumphs, and their fears, and offers motherless mothers the guidance and support they want and need.
Book Excerpt:
Chapter One
Motherhood and Mourning
The Power to Heal
It’s 7:40 A.M. and the house is cranked up to full volume. We’ve got twenty minutes till Maya and Uzi have to leave for the bus stop then another half hour before I drive Eden down to preschool. Between now and then, I’ve got a snack bag and a lunch box to prepare, a backpack to fill, breakfast dishes to rinse, two kids and one adult to dress, and two heads of hair to brush. Three, if you include mine, but sometimes that one gets skipped.
“Mom!” Maya shouts from upstairs. “Where are my pink high-tops?”
“In the basket by the front door! Bring a hair clip when you come down!”
Uzi walks down the stairs, rubbing his freshly shaved chin. He stops in front of Eden’s chair and kisses her on the top of her head.
“Twenty minutes,” I tell him.
“You need help with that?” He nods toward the array of bread and turkey breast slices and condiments spread across the kitchen counter. I consider the offer. If he makes Eden’s lunch, I can brew a cup of tea for myself. Otherwise, I won’t bother. But I’m the one who knows exactly how to cut the crust off Eden’s bread, and how many slices of turkey to use. Those are the details mothers know. From first through eleventh grade, my mother made my sandwich every morning. That’s what mothers do.
“I’ll do it,” I say.
Topics/Categories:
Adolescence, Death, early parent loss, Grief, Illness, Loss, Motherless women, Mothers and Daughters, Nonfiction, orphan archetype, Psychology, Relationships, Self-Help, Women’s Interests
Genre:
Biography and Memoir, Family - Relationships, General Women's Studies - Interest, Motherhood, Psychology, Self-Help, Women's Studies - Interest
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Original Publish Date:
April 1, 2000
Reading Guides:
http://www.harpercollins.com/author/authorExtra.aspx?isbn13=9780060532468&displayType=readingGuide
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