Single Mother's Companion (Trade) [Paperback]

Marsha R. Leslie (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1994

Featuring contributions from such noted authors as Barbara Kingsolver, Linda Hogan, Anne Lamott, and the first African-American female U.S. senator, Carol Moseley-Braun, this landmark anthology is a richly diverse collection of essays and stories that explores the adversity, joys, and realities of raising a child alone.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This collection movingly portrays the experiences of single mothers, black, white and Asian; affluent and poor (more often the latter); heterosexual and lesbian. In essays and some stories, women detail the self-doubt, guilt, fatigue, societal censure-and boundless joy and satisfaction-that go hand-in-hand with raising children alone. In Carol Weir's short story, "Loosestrife," a broke, bewildered young mother learns at a court hearing that her husband, who left "to find work," is living with his new boss's daughter. Anne Lamott and Beverly Donofrio describe how their sons are thriving despite the lack of a "father figure." Wendy Dutton offers relief to mothers who yell at their children, observing, in "Life as a Writing Mom," that "kids yell all day long. That's why they are the most emotionally happy beings on earth." Sociologist Valerie Polakow's profiles of four women in "Contingent Lives" show how the welfare system is a self-perpetuating trap rather than a free ride. In "The Silent Constituency," a stirring call to arms, Senator Carol Moseley Braun points out that women's issues "are crucial to the security and survival of our country" and exhorts women to use the vote in order make democracy work for them. An associate producer for public television and a single mother herself, Leslie has pulled together a rich anthology that offers much wisdom, solace, humor and inspiration.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

If the concept of Mom really does rank right up there with apple pie and Old Glory, this anthology of essays and stories by women should do very well. Its contents explore the joys and sorrows, the small satisfactions and frustrations, in the world of women raising children by themselves within the context of a society that refuses to acknowledge the complexities of single motherhood. Contributions come from well-known writers, such as Barbara Kingsolver, Becky Birtha, and Linda Hogan, and include a call to action by the first African American woman senator, Carol Mosely-Braun. There's also a stunningly painful essay by Kathleen Moore that spans two decades as her infant son grows into an exploitative young man who lies to her, steals large amounts from her bank account, throws away his opportunity for an athletic scholarship by not attending classes, and intermittently disappears; all the while, she blames herself for his faults. A welcome addition to the women's studies and social issues shelves. Whitney Scott

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Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Publishing Group; First Edition edition (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878067567
• ISBN-13: 978-1878067562
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,490,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Loved It!, April 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Single Mother's Companion (Trade) (Paperback)

This book helped me feel not so all alone in the trials and tribulations of Single Parenting. A must read. A wonderful compiling of heart wrenching stories that touch home.