Mothers and Their Adult Daughters: Mixed Emotions, Enduring Bonds [Paperback]

Karen L., Ph.D. Fingerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2002

The mother-daughter tie takes on unique characteristics as daughters enter midlife and mothers enter old age. Incorporating vivid descriptions by mothers and daughters about their relationships, this book addresses both the rewards and the difficulties mothers and daughters experience in maintaining their relationships into old age. Based on interviews with 48 mothers over age 70 and their adult daughters, Dr. Fingerman begins with an overview of this relationship, which, she points out, can be distinguished from other social ties by the strength of the mother-daughter bond. This excellent study will be of interest not only to researchers in women's and family studies, but any mother and daughter.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a unique and singular scholarly book on adult mother/daughter relationships." -- Independent Publisher Online

"a book that will ring true for any[one]...who wants to find out more about the fascinating mother-daughter bond." -- Toronto Globe & Mail

From the Publisher

"As far as I am aware, there is no other scholarly book on adult mother/daughter relationships, particularly one that incorporates data from pairs of mothers and daughters." -- Rosemary Blieszner, Ph.D., Professor of Gerontology and Family Studies, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (November 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159102028X
• ISBN-13: 978-1591020288
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,364,589 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Touching and Perceptive Look at Mother-Daughter Relationships, September 29, 2006

By 

Ann Douglas "pregnancy/parenting author" (Peterborough, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mothers and Their Adult Daughters: Mixed Emotions, Enduring Bonds (Paperback)

Karen Fingerman has chose to examine the quality of the mother-daughter tie during "an under-researched period of the life span -- when daughters are grown and have entered midlife, but their mothers remain healthy."

Fingerman's book is much more of an academic read than a popular book, but it's likely to appeal to some of the readers who have helped to put other mother-daughter books (most notably Nancy Friday's book My Mother, My Self) on the bestseller lists. Her book includes chapters on the joys and challenges of the mother-daughter relationship, dealing with conflict, and recognizing the ways in which the mother-daughter relationship evolves over time.

Fingerman is at her most compelling when she dares to write about the unspeakable -- how mothers and daughters manage to deal with the fact of the mother's mortality. In describing her most recent visit with her mother, one of the 48 daughters interviewed in the book describes about how increasingly bittersweet the mother-daughter relationship becomes as the mother grows older and the daughter is forced to face the ticking of a very different type of biological clock: "I felt very happy to be with her. But I kind of came away feeling also kind of sad. The last couple of years, my sisters and I have talked about [the fact] that we all sort of feel this way when we're with her. It's bittersweet because she's not well, and she's almost 80. So you know you're not going to have a whole lot of [time]."

Fingerman doesn't shy away from tough topics, nor does she try to turn her portrait of the mother-daughter relationship into an extended play version of a Hallmark greeting card. The result is a book that will ring true for any adult woman who is lucky enough to have a mother who is still in good health, and who wants to find out more about the fascinating mother-daughter bond.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, January 18, 2008

By 

Sandra Osborn (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mothers and Their Adult Daughters: Mixed Emotions, Enduring Bonds (Paperback)

I purchased this book months and months ago and have never completed it. I found it not to be what I had expected; it is very boring and provides little, if any, suggestions for better mother/daughter relationships.