Memoirs by moms hit bookshelves
Several mom-centered memoirs released in recent weeks are earning buzz in mainstream papers and parenting magazines.By: Sherri Richards, INFORUM
- 'Cinderella Ate My Daughter'
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Several mom-centered memoirs released in recent weeks are earning buzz in mainstream papers and parenting magazines.
These are not how-to parenting manuals. They don’t offer step-by-step discipline techniques or nutritious meal plans or advice on how to help your kid with his algebra homework.
Rather, these nonfiction books explore parenting from a personal, and sometimes academic, point of view.
Here’s the lowdown on these parent-themed reads, as well as a few other memoirs that have tackled the topic of parenting.
Author: Peggy Orenstein
Who she is: A contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine and author of “Waiting for Daisy” and “Schoolgirls”
Published: Jan. 25
Pages: 244
What it’s about: An exploration of the potential negative impact of our new girlie-girl culture, one Orenstein saw her own daughter embrace as she longed for tulle dresses and played princess
Author: Amy Chua
Who she is: Professor at Yale Law School and noted expert in fields of international business, ethnic conflict and globalization
Published: Jan. 11
Pages: 256
What it’s about: Chua’s extreme exercise in parenting, what she describes as the Chinese way of raising children, where parents demand academic (and in Chua’s memoir, musical) perfection
Author: Brooke Burke
Who she is: A mother of four, Burke won season seven of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” and is CEO of ModernMom.com
Published: Feb. 1
Pages: 320
What it’s about: A behind-the-scenes look at the chaotic life of this celebrity mom, sharing some universal truths for all moms
Author: Teresa Strasser
Who she is: Television writer and TV host, best-known as Adam Carolla’s radio sidekick
Published: Jan. 4
Pages: 304
What it’s about: A blunt memoir about Strasser’s first-time pregnancy, which she experienced at age 38
Other reads
Here are a few other recent books that target different parent demographics.
For dads
Author: Jay Mohr
Who he is: “Saturday Night Live” alum and “Last Comic Standing” host
Published: May 2010 (paperback is due out this May)
Pages: 274
What it’s about: Down-and-dirty tales of modern fatherhood, including Mohr’s humiliating test-tube conception attempts, trying to keep the child alive and the moments of pure joy
For adoptive parents
Authors: Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy with Sally Jenkins
Who they are: The Tuohys, of Memphis, provided inspiration for the film “The Blind Side.” She runs an interior design company. He owns more than 70 restaurant franchises.
Published: July 2010 (paperback released Feb. 1)
Pages: 288
What it’s about: The rest of “The Blind Side” story, so to speak, including the Tuohys insight into why they reached out to homeless teen Michael Oher
For parents of teens
Author: Debra Gwartney
Who she is: A former Oregonian newspaper reporter and correspondent for Newsweek, she now teaches writing at Portland State University.
Published: February 2009 (released in paperback last year)
Pages: 240
What it’s about: A story originally shared on NPR’s “This American Life,” Gwartney shares her personal account of two young girls determined to disappear and the journey back to mother-daughter love.
Tags: life, family, moms, books
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