Mothers of Adult Children

by Marguerite Guzman Bouvard (Editor), Mirna E. Carranza (Contribution by), Susan Duenke (Contribution by), Nancy Gerber (Contribution by), Trish Green (Contribution by)

Overview

Mothers of Adult Children elucidates what happens when children come of age and leave home, creating new lives in the realms of work and relationships. Mothers from around the world learn that this is the point in which their relationships with their children must drastically change. Mothers often come to terms with the changes by accepting differences and providing moral and emotional support when needed. However, the evolutionary nature of mothers’ roles throughout the course of their children’s lives is not only determined by the mother-child dynamic. The mothering of adult children is a transformative role, and the stories presented here show that the dynamics between mother and child are also influenced by cultural events. Accidents, disasters, war, and other hardships also intervene in these stories of multicultural motherhood. This book reveals the problems mothers of adult children face and celebrates the outstanding accomplishments of those who mother through hardship.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739183007
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	09/12/2013
Pages:	202
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Marguerite Bouvard, PhD, was a professor of political science and department chair at Regis College and is currently a resident scholar at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University. She is the author of numerous books, including Revolutionizing Motherhood, Women Reshaping Human Rights, and The Invisible Wounds of War.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1 - When Nana becomes a mother
Chapter 2 - Mad Hearts
Chapter 3 - Rethinking Salvadorian Mothers’ “Suffering” and “Sacrifice” in a Transnational
Context: Politics of Engagement
Chapter 4 - Mothering Adult Daughters in Contemporary Poland: Fluctuating Scripts of
Femininity in Post-Transitional Society
Chapter 5 - Motherhood and the Empty Nest: The Challenges of Letting Go
Chapter 6 - Prodigal Sons and Daughters? Mothers’ Experiences of Adult Children
Returning Home
Chapter 7 - Mothering Adult Sons Versus Daughters: The Role of the Spouse
Chapter 8 - Mothering Adult Children With Special Needs: Handing In The Uniform
Chapter 9 - Mothering For Life? Fractured Maternal Narratives, Care and Intellectual
Disability
Chapter 10 - An Adult Daughter Lost in Alcohol
Chapter 11 - Mothering in War
Chapter 12 - The Truth Is Never Ideal
Chapter 13 - Mothering Lost and Found Adult Children
Chapter 14 - Dreaming of Mothering; Waking to Joy and Tears
Chapter 15 - Rules of Engagement: Grandmothers, Daughters and the Mothering of Mothers
Chapter 16 - Generations
Contributors' Notes

Editorial Reviews

Bouvard’s Mothers of Adult Children might be re-named 'Other Mothers of Adult Children.' The women whose stories she tells are not of the stereotypical Hallmark card variety. Instead, we are presented with women who mother despite and with major challenges—and in some cases the challenges are horrific. In this compelling book, testimonies of impoverished minority women reveal how economics and ethnicity plays a role in mothering. We can be grateful that Bouvard has shared these honest stories to help us understand how mothering has developed in this postmodern world.

Shulamit Reinharz

In this compelling book, many women of adult children have contributed stories of advocacy for their children who are facing hardships; these forms of advocacy include protecting and offering them emotional support, caring for their families, and working in order to provide them with income. Coming from a multitude of economic and socio-cultural backgrounds, the women chronicled in this book behave as heroines—especially when faced with situations that create tension and ambivalence between mothers and their adult children.

Jennifer Coplon

Marguerite Guzmán Bouvard’s collection of essays provides a superb description of mothers of adult children. She includes essays by women from many cultures and many different socioeconomic situations that give the reader a panoramic view of the important work of mothers in the years following childhood. It is a significant addition to the literature on mothering.

Ruth Nemzoff