Title: Mean Mothers
Author: Peg Streep
Pub. Date: October 13, 2009
Publisher: William Morrow
(Amazon - Product Description)
An exploration of the darker side of maternal behavior drawn from scientific research, psychology, and the real-life experiences of adult daughters, Mean Mothers sheds light on one of the last cultural taboos: what happens when a woman doesn't or can't love her daughter.
Mean Mothers reveals the multigenerational thread that often runs through these stories—many unloving mothers are the daughters of unloving or hypercritical women—and explores what happens to a daughter's sense of self and to her relationships when her mother is emotionally absent or even cruel. But Mean Mothers is also a narrative of hope, recounting how daughters can get past the legacy of hurt to become whole within and to become loving mothers to the next generation of daughters. The personal stories of unloved daughters and sons and those of the author herself, are both unflinching and moving, and bring this most difficult of subjects to life.
Mean Mothers isn't just a book for daughters who've had difficult or impossible relationships with their mothers. By exposing the myths of motherhood that prevent us from talking about the women for whom mothering a daughter is fraught with ambivalence, tension, or even jealousy, Mean Mothers also casts a different light on the extraordinary influence mothers have over their female children as well as the psychological complexity and emotional depth of the mother-daughter relationship.
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Join in the fun..... "Waiting on Wednesday" is hosted by Jill @ Breaking The Spine. It spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. What's your pick?
That sounds very interesting. Books like that are good simply because they can help others undestand behaviours which most people find incomprehensible. I'll have to keep an eye out for it.
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting! I read a book once about mothers with borderline personality disorder - it said that BPD often gets passed down through several generations of mothers. I'd be interested to see what this book says about mental illness and how it plays into "meanness".
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so interesting. I wrote my MA dissertation of mother-daughter relationships and this sounds like such a great book. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting, I have yet to read any books on mental illness and mean mother's. Thanks for the heads up.
ReplyDeleteSaw this one at work, and read the first chapter or so. It seemed to be a good blend of personal anecdotes and more controlled studies/inquiries, and the topic certainly is interesting. Non-fiction isn't generally my thing, but this one would have been very easy to keep reading!
ReplyDeleteVery thought provoking choice!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like this one will be a tough but very interesting read.
ReplyDeleteSounds like this one will be a tough but very interesting read.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for it even though I have a good mother and have two boys :)
ReplyDeleteI really like the sound of this one. I love my mom!! But sometimes she can be entirely impossible to deal with *sigh*
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely have to check this one out.
This sounds like a very important book! My own mom wasn't mean, but we definitely have a complex relationship, and I'm sure it could have a lot to do with her own upbringing (being adopted and then put in foster care - she had one good role model for a mom and one bad one, and she went back and forth between them). I think this is one I'll have to add to my list.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if there are many Mommie Dearests out there--and your review of this book makes me want to read more about them. Thanks for the intro to this book.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for bringing this book to my attention, Diane. It sounds like something I really need to read. Sadly, I don't think this topic is discussed enough, and daughters of cruel or emotionally manipulative mothers are often made to feel like they're to blame. The myth of universal female nurturance probably plays into that.
ReplyDeleteI need this book. My mom and I have a difficult relationship and I don't understand why. Thanks for mentioning it, I will add it to my list. :)
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds very interesting to me, and I have not yet read anything about damaging mother/daughter relationships. I will have to keep an eye out for when it's released.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it's interesting. I think most moms probably do the best they can with "what they've got". My mom is great but I grew up in a huge family and there wasn't a lot of personal one on one time. But I knew I was loved. I hope my own kids know that they're loved - and they had a lot of one on one time with me.
ReplyDelete:D probably more than you wanted to know, lol.
Whoa. This sounds like something I need to pick up. My daughter is five, and I swore that I would have a better relationship with her than I have with my own mother (feelings of jealousy - check!). Thanks for bringing this to my attention!
ReplyDeleteI will be picking up this book for sure. My mother is awfully mean. I spent more time calling the police than saying I love you growing up.
ReplyDelete