Mothers and children : feminist analyses and personal narratives /

Combining sociological feminist analysis with personal narratives, Chase (sociology, Univ. of Tulsa) and Rogers (sociology, Univ. of West Florida) attempt to anchor the historical and social contexts of motherhood in the real world. The authors organize ten chapters around a framework of three themes: "Social Constructions of Motherhood," "Maternal Bodies," and "Mothering in Everyday Life." Each of the chapters, written either singly or jointly by the authors, usually begins with a historical overview and then discusses some of the major issues and debates in the contemporary writings on that theme. One or more personal stories, authored by others and selected to illustrate the topics treated in the chapter, follow each of the analytical chapters. The organizing themes do not add much cohesion to the book; only the topics treated under the theme of maternal bodies could be called cohesive, and the book is much more about mothers than children. The book does work, however, mostly because the authors chose to discuss important issues surrounding motherhood and because the structure of analysis and narrative is excellent for this type of book. Upper-division undergraduates. K. M. McKinley Cabrini College