In the tradition of recent hits like The Bitch in the House and Perfect Madness comes a hilarious and controversial book that every woman will have an opinion about, written by Americaโs most outrageous writer.
In our mothersโ day there were good mothers, neglectful mothers, and occasionally great mothers.
Today we have only Bad Mothers.
If you work, youโre neglectful; if you stay home, youโre smothering. If you discipline, youโre buying them a spot on the shrinkโs couch; if you let them run wild, they will be into drugs by seventh grade. If you buy organic, youโre spending their college fund; if you donโt, youโre risking all sorts of allergies and illnesses.
Is it any wonder so many women refer to themselves at one time or another as โa bad motherโ? Ayelet Waldman says itโs time for women to get over it and get on with it, in a book that is sure to spark the same level of controversy as her now legendary โModern Loveโ piece, in which she confessed to loving her husband more than her children.
Covering topics as diverse as the hysteria of competitive parenting (Whose toddler can recite the planets in order from the sun?), the relentless pursuits of the Bad Mother police, balancing the work-family dynamic, and the bane of every motherโs existence (homework, that is), Bad Mother illuminates the anxieties that riddle motherhood today, while providing women with the encouragement they need to give themselves a break.
Media Buzz
CBS Sunday Morning - May 10, 2009 Today - May 7, 2009 Fresh Air - NPR - May 5, 2009