Customer Reviews

Good Daughters: Loving Our Mothers as They Age

5 star:		(4)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a novice in the field of "Oh my God, mom is coming to live with me", I was so heartened to find this book, which BTW I have not even finished yet, and know that the petty annoyances that plague me are not a reason to consume me with guilt. I am not alone. How reassuring it was for me to know that other women are still feeling the tug of their mom's advice, criticism, competition yada yada yada. I know I love my mom but was concerned about my inability to relate to where she is coming from at this point in her life,being 86 years old, as well as how I wanted our relationship to be at my own age of 50. Now I better understand and it has made me a more compassionate daughter. I have found myself sobbing at times reading this book as well as laughing at myself AND my mom. I am now not so afraid to proceed to the end.

A must read for every caring woman. Aging is a difficult topic, which Pat Beard manages to make palatable, helpful and interesting. By turns anecdotal, by turns analytical, she shows us the varieties of mother - daughter relationships. It's a wise and helpful book..

GOOD DAUGHTERS treats a crucial subject -- how to deal with aging mothers -- at a crucial time when the population of older mothers and mid-life daughters is expanding. This book contains valuable data and poignant profiles which reach across women's experience. The author writes beautifully and insightfully. I have already recommended this book to friends and teachers of women's studies. There is something here for every woman and every student of contemporary American life.

This book helps you to understand the aging process and how to behave around your aging mother so that the both of you are comfortable with your relationship. It addresses the questions of role reversals, death, and how both your lives can be more comfortable. This book humanizes an uncomfortable subject in easy to understand terms. It will make your and your mothers life a better place to live. If you have a mother this is a must read!!

I read the other reviews on line about this book, but found it did not live up to its high marks. I had a very difficult relationship with my Mom, who just recently passed away. While I thought the book was good at showing the different kinds of Mother-Daughter bonds, I found its treatment of the hard relationships to be lacking in sympathy for the daughters of difficult mothers. In particular, she appears to judge quite harshly one woman whose mother who was dying and was on a breathing machine. She essentially said that if the daughter had been closer to her mother, the doctors who refused to remove the breathing tube (which was causing the mother discomfort) might have acted differently. I am appalled both by the lack of empathy for the daughter and the complete lack of understanding of the modern medical establishment that this comment showed. I was looking for something to help me move on, heal, come to a better place about my life with my Mom. This book did not help.