BETWEEN MOTHERS AND SONS: Women Writers Talk About Having Sons and Raising Men

By Patricia Stevens

Book Overview

"The challenge for mothers of sons is to realize that because we do not share a sexual identity, that because we have not grown up in a male body, we cannot presume to understand everything there is to know about our sons' worlds." -- Patricia Stevens
Between Mothers and Sons is the first anthology in which women writers attempt to answer the question that all mothers have contemplated in the course of mothering the opposite sex: "Who is this male child who came out of my body?" Or, as a pregnant Mary Gordon said when her doctor told her she was having a boy, "Oh, my God. What am I supposed to do with one of them?"
From the earliest days of nursing to the good-byes of college and looming adulthood, these writers collectively explore, in a thrilling range of styles and sensibilities, the delights and frustrations, the deep and often conflicted emotions, they feel in their roles as mothers to their male children. Between Mothers and Sons resoundingly and unflinchingly celebrates this journey we are all making with our boys.

with essays from:

Julene Bair † Janet Burroway † Robb Forman Dew
Deborah Galyan † Mary Gordon † Joy Harjo † Anne Lamott
Susan Lester † Jo-Ann Mapson † Leigh McKinley
Valerie Monroe † Naomi Shihab Nye † Eileen Pollack
Jewell Parker Rhodes † Patricia Stevens † Sallie Tilsdale
Kris Vervaecke † Patricia Williams

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684850729
• ISBN13: 9780684850726
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A wonderful anthology

I found this anthology wonderfully refreshing, and very validating. It gives affirmation to the intense emotional endeavor of raising a young man, and allows a communal feeling with other mothers on the same journey. The stories are poignantly shared, and are passionately detailed. I recommend this book to any Mother raising a son!

Inspired *me* to start writing again

Perhaps this collection resonated more deeply with me than other reviewers because I consider myself a feminist *and* a mother of two spirited sons. My eldest son is only five years old and his nemesis/favorite person in the known universe a mere three and a half, but this rich book struck a chord deep within me that has not been played enough as a busy mother. I couldn't get enough of these esays. I am still hungry for more, so I pick up my pen and write a little bit everyday now.

Something here for everyone

As with many short story / essay collections, it is hard to review the book overall as the individual contributions are uneven. In this case, almost all are moving and at least some will touch a heartstring (or raw nerve!) in every mother. Many play the feminist angle, which I felt may be somewhat misplaced in a mother-son relationship. A couple I'd already read in other collections (e.g. `Toddler'), including one of my personal favourites, Jonathan Bing by Priscilla Leigh MacKinley, about a mother who lost her sight during childbirth and has to adapt to becoming blind and the responsibility of responsibility of caring for a new baby at the same time ... the thought alone makes me shudder, but she writes about it beautifully and it was a joy to read again. All-in-all, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Memorable reading, great range of experiences

Each in her own way, the writers in this collection make complex connections -- with their sons and with readers. There's a great range of experiences here for the reader who wants to concentrate on the mother-son relationship rather than on family relationships in general.I sometimes cried and more often laughed -- but I also thought about my female friends and their sons, and agreed with what I was reading -- then remembered my mother and sisters and their sons, and argued back -- considered my male friends, and understood more than I had before. The authors had some great stories to tell, and the quality of the writing fully repaid a second (and for some essays, a third) reading. The author's own very moving contribution was my favorite, but months after reading the book, there are many moments I remember.

Incredible

I bought Between Mothers and Sons for myself as a Mother's Day gift when my son was 3 months old. I was moved viscerally by the essays contained in this book. Although I do agree with the reviewer from Wisconsin that the collective voice of these essays is limited, I feel that the emotional tumult felt and expressed by these very talented women is universal.