Strong Stuff: Mothers' Stories

By Emily W. Moore

Book Overview

In Strong Stuff: Mothers' Stories, eighty-four American mothers tell their own stories, intimately, candidly, in their own words. These women form a cross section of the mothers in America today: rich and poor; black, white, Hispanic, Native American, and Asian American; Jewish, Catholic, protestant, and Amish; married and single; lesbian and straight; employed in a variety of occupations and at-home-by-choice; mothers in prison; teenage mothers and mothers who are great-grandmothers; Midwest farm mothers, mothers from New England, the South, and the West; homeless mothers; mothers of only children and mothers of many, many children; adoptive mothers and step-mothers.

The individual stories are grouped into seven chapters. Each chapter has a brief introduction, which is followed by the stories. Chapters are:

Identity
Teaching
Challenge
Violence
Loss
Mothers and Fathers
Affirmation

Each story begins with the woman's name (pseudonym), a quote called out from the story, and a few introductory sentences about the mother and her connection to this particular chapter. An index of issues and of mothers' situations makes it easy for anyone to find all references, for instance, to teenage mothers or to managing teenagers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585005622
• ISBN13: 9781585005628
• Release Date: July 2000
• Publisher: 1st Book Library
• Length: 456 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A compendium of profound insights about women

In Strong Stuff: Mothers' Stories, Emily Moore provides a compendium of profound insights about women, their mothers, and their children. These are compelling and insightful stories drawn from 84 women and which will be of substantial value in helping the reader become the mother she desires to be; to better understand herself and her child; show her options previously unsuspected; benefit from insights and wisdom gleaned from others' experiences; see the lives of women from different cultures and life situations; and even help her decide if she wants to become a mother in a time when science and the women's movement have endowed today's women with biological and social choices respecting motherhood that previous generations of women simply didn't have access to. If you are a new mother, or are contemplating motherhood for your self, read Emily Moore's Strong Stuff: Mothers' Stories!

Nuggets of Wisdom

STRONG STUFF is to be read slowly so the stories and advice within can be savored and contemplated. In their stories mothers let slip simple but powerful nuggets of parenting wisdom. For me, the advice of Louise Callahn (Affirmation section, pg398) offers some of the best in the book..."I will never say 'no' if I can say 'yes' ". This hint may seem simple but so often we jump to 'no' without a thought. The variety of the women's backgrounds is impressive. Each of us will find some of our parenting experiences and predicaments here. I highly recommend this book for new mothers who are wondering what they got themselves into. STRONG STUFF is a wonderful source for women traveling the tricky terrain of mothering.

Amazing!

Strong Stuff is perfect for health care professionals, agencies which run parenting groups, Women's Studies departments and mothers. It is not a sentimental book about mothering, but instead a series of honest, raw and revealing portraits of mothers. It is fascinating to read between the lines--to understand why each story is so important. The women in the stories have different backgrounds, experiences and mothers of their own which all play a part in their identity and success as a mother. The reader can't help but develop enormous respect for all mothers and for what the mothering process teaches them. Strong Stuff will change or broaden your perspective. And just try to put it down! I described it to a friend and she said, "Amazing!"

Riveting

The title says it all-- this is strong stuff indeed. No sugar coating, no hearts and flowers-- just very real women talking about very real life. Oral history at its best. I couldn't put it down. Refreshingly enough, the author doesn't have any personal or ideological axe to grind-- she just lets the women talk. And what they say is just awesome. This book ought to be on Oprah's list!

Eyeball to Eyeball with Reality

This collection of descriptions by more than 100 diverse women is very powerful, because these women tell their own stories in their own words, with no hype, or buffing, or spin, or overview by anybody. And they are therefore very very real and many are quite compelling, for various reasons. It is a voyeur's paradise. What aware man hasn't wondered what it's really like to be a mother. What woman doesn't want to know what other mothers' experience is really like? There is an index of topics which helps get a handle on the mass of text. And the book is divided into seven theme-sections, each with an introduction by the author, where in her own voice she addresses an element of the mothering experience. Because the vignettes are each a few pages long, the book can be read in snips at different times without losing continuity.Moore does for mothering what Studs Terkel did for working. But to my reading, the sensitivity here is much greater, and in the long run, the topic much more compelling. Enjoy!