MOTHERS Book Bag

Vote Mother: The Maternal is Political

As we enter convention season for both the Democrats and the Repulicans, it seems fitting that The Maternal Is Political: Women Writers at the Intersection of Motherhood and Social Change is our choice.

Exploring the vital connection between motherhood and social change, editor Shari MacDonald Strong features more than 40 powerful, hard-hitting literary essays by women who are striving to make the world a better place for children and families — both their own and other women’s — in this country and globally.

Some of the writers showcased in The Maternal Is Political include:

• Barbara Kingsolver
• Anne Lamott
• Anna Quindlen
• Marrit Ingman, author of Inconsolable: How I Threw My Mental Health Out With the Diapers
• Judith Stadtman Tucker of The Mothers Movement Online
• Ann Douglas
• Stephanie Wilkinson and Jennifer Niesslein, co-founders of Brain, Child: the Magazine for Thinking Mothers
• Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House and author of the recently released Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters

To quote the back of the book,

"The saying is true: The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world. And the world has never needed mothers more.

…The Maternal Is Political is a comfort, an inspiration, fuel for the fires, and a roadmap to a better future…for us and for all our children."

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, because MOTHERS knows that the maternal is truly the political. It's our cause and our passion.

Reading group Discussion Questions for The Maternal is Political

You can download the PDF file on Shari MacDonald Strong’s reading group discussion page.

1. What does the phrase “The personal is political” mean historically? What does “The maternal is political” mean to you?
2. Which essay in this book resonated with you the most, and why? Which essay did you struggle with most strongly, or feel most challenged by? What do you think might be the reasons for that?
3. The Maternal Is Political: Women Writers at the Intersection of Motherhood and Social Change includes 43 essays by 44 writers, on 43 different subjects. But the subject matter (the relationships between motherhood and politics) could easily drive several more volumes. What additional political issues would you have liked to see addressed in an anthology of this kind?
4. Although a range of writing styles are represented in this book, the pieces here are, by and large, more literary than academic. How is the experience of reading about issues such as activism, immigration, abortion, and women’s rights, for example, different when you read about them in story form, as opposed to in a textbook? In what way does the presence of a personal narrator add to (or detract from) the subject matter presented?
5. Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, in the introduction, emphasizes the importance of mothers sharing their political stories. Do you agree that this is important? How much does sharing our stories play into the goal of making a difference in the world?
6. The essays in this book are grouped into three sections: Believe, Teach, and Act. Could some of the stories been placed one of the other categories? How much do these three key aspects of our political and mothering experiences—our beliefs, what we teach, and how we act—crossover and overlap in real life?
7. Several authors in this collection mention that the act of becoming a parent brought them to a new political awareness. In what ways did becoming a mother trigger for you a political awakening—or did it?
8. Do you think most mothers feel that they have political power? Why or why not?
9. How can we, as women and as mothers, encourage one another and make the most of our collective political power? What is one thing you can do differently this year, to help you become more effective politically, in order to bring about social change—or simply to make the world better and safer for your child(ren)?

Opting In Reading Group Guide

Courtesy of MacMillian publishing and Amy's publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. You can download a PDF of the Reading Group Guide here.

1. How did you react to the theme of the New York Times Magazine cover story that inspired this book and is described in the introduction? To what degree does media hype influence your mind-set about the evolving role of women—mothers or not—
in American society? To what degree does the media’s portrayal of contemporary women match the realities of your own life?

2. In the introduction, Amy Richards outlines feminism’s accomplishments in the realm of motherhood and calls on readers to consider the power of the individual to effect change and to sustain the momentum of change. What impact have these accomplishments made on your own life? How has the role of mothers changed within your own family in recent generations, particularly in your mother’s and grandmother’s generations?

3. What revelations in Chapter 1: “To Work or Not to Work Is Not the Question,” were most surprising to you? Why does the all-or-nothing approach to careers and motherhood reign in most media coverage of the issue? Are the more essential facets—flexible schedules, paid family leave, parenting partners, and equality in pay—overlooked in the dialogues within your circle of friends, relatives, or coworkers?

4. Richards describes family-friendly European legislation that contrasts sharply with American lawmaking. In what way does this disparity reflect cultural values on both sides of the Atlantic? Is America’s corporate culture inherently at odds with the needs of its workers’ families?

5. What is the best way to cope with misinformation or hyperbole regarding biologically based parenting instincts and the challenges of contemporary parenting? To what extent did abortion debates of the 1970s shape the public’s perception of questions regarding women’s reproductive realities?

 

Caring Economics: Riane Eisler and The Real Wealth of Nations

This month MOTHERS recommends The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics by eminent social scientist Riane Eisler who shows that the great problems of our time - poverty, inequality, war, terrorism, and environmental degradation - are due to flawed economic systems that set the wrong priorities and misallocate resources.

What's new, you say? Well, Eisler shows that since conventional economic models fail to value and support the most essential human work - caring and caregiving - basic human needs are neglected. Despair and ecological destruction escalate, and the resulting social tensions fuel many of the conflicts we face today.

Eisler offers a bold reformation: a caring economics that transcends traditional categories like capitalist and socialist and offers enormous economic and social benefits. She describes business policies and practices, innovative economic indicators that incorporate caregiving activities, and new social structures. And she lays out practical steps we can take to move towards a society based on this more humane economic model.

MOTHERS knows you'll find The Real Wealth of Nations a thought provoking read along with our MOTHERS interview with Riane Eisler, excerpts of her book, and links to interviews, videos and reviews around the Web.

Get Inspired in 2008 - Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World

In 2008, MOTHERS and many of you may be looking to making a difference in the world. With that in mind, our first MOTHERS Book Bag choice of the new year is Bill Clinton's Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World. The books extols the virtues of volunteering time and money to worthy causes. It also looks at the extraordinary and innovative efforts now being made by companies, organizations, and individuals to solve problems and save lives both locally and worldwide. Then Giving urges us to seek out what each of us regardless of income, age, skills, and time can do to help, to give people a chance to live out their dreams.

Bill Clinton shares his own experiences and those of other givers, representing a global flood tide of nongovernmental, nonprofit activity. These remarkable stories demonstrate that gifts of time, skills, things, and ideas are as important and effective as contributions of money. From Bill and Melinda Gates to a California girl named McKenzie Steiner, who organized and supervised drives to clean up the beach in her community, Clinton introduces us to both well-known and unknown heroes of giving.

An excerpt:

I’ve included one picture that says it all. It captures the beautiful face and bright eyes of a Cambodian orphan born with HIV. Basil was ten months old when this photo was taken. His mother died when he was only one month old, and her doctor arranged for him to be taken in by New Hope for Cambodian Children, an organization that cares for HIV-positive orphans and other vulnerable children.

When Basil arrived at the home, he was six weeks of age and had both HIV and tuberculosis. His doctor, a Clinton Foundation fellow, treated him for both conditions, giving Basil lifesaving pediatric AIDS medication through my foundation’s partnership with UNITAID, which funds our efforts to treat children across the globe. Basil responded well to the treatment, gained weight, and, as you can see, is now healthy. He has a chance. That’s often all one person can give another. But it can make all the difference.

Clinton is dedicating a portion of the book's proceeds to charities and nonprofits that are doing their part to change the world.

MOTHERS hopes that reading Giving will inspire you to explore how you can change the world in 2008.

Comment below on how you plan to change the world and give in 2008!

Promoting "Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World"

• On December 10, 2007, Bill Clinton appeared on the CBS Early Show and talked to Harry Smith about Giving. Click here to watch it.
• On September 4, 2007, Clinton appeared on Oprah. Go to Oprah's website to watch the interview.
• On September 5, 2007, Clinton appeared on David Letterman's show. Go to Milk and Cookies to view the video.
• The Daily Gotham's reflections on being invited to private panel discussion for the release of Bill Clinton’s latest book.
• President Clinton also appeared on the Comedy Central's The Daily Show. You can watch the full, uncut video at The Green Report.
• Bill Clinton Urges 'Substantial Drawdown' in Iraq and Promtoes 'Giving' at NPR with Renee Montagne, September 7, 2007

The Critics Weigh in On Clinton and "Giving"

• 'Giving’ and Taking by Chris Hedges at TruthDig.com, September 17, 2007
• Publishers Weekly, September 4, 2007
• Something's gotta give - Government gets off too easy in the ex-President's new book on philanthropy by Jeffrey Sachs at Fortune magazine, September 18, 2007
• Book Review: Giving - How Each of Us Can Change the World by Bill Clinton by James O'Neil at BlogCritics.org, December 21, 2007
• Daily Book Review - 'Giving' by Bill Clinton: The former president says each of us can change the world by donating time and money by Hank Edson at CounterPunch.org, September 14, 2007
• Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World by John Mark Eberhart,McClatchy Newspapers, September 25, 2007
• Clinton's book has good intentions, but not necessarily good prose by By Chuck Leddy at The Boston Globe, September 3, 2007

Discussion Questions on Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World

These discussion questions were written by Bill Clinton for ReadingGroupGuides.com along with an opening note:

Dear Friend,

I wrote Giving to profile inspirational people who are giving back in ways both large and small, and having an amazing impact on the lives of others as a result. As we approach this holiday season, I hope that my book will serve as a blueprint for everyone --- regardless of income, available time, age and skills --- on the different ways you can get involved and make a difference, either in your own neighborhood or half a world away.

I'm honored that you are considering Giving for your reading group and I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season.

Sincerely,
Bill Clinton

Resources for Giving from the Clinton Foundation

Ready to take action? The following publications, organizations and websites, as referenced in Giving, are great places to start: 

CHAPTER ONE: The Explosion of Private Citizens Doing Public Good

CHAPTER TWO: Giving Money

CHAPTER THREE: Giving Time

CHAPTER FOUR: Giving Things

CHAPTER FIVE: Giving Skills

CHAPTER SIX: Gifts of Reconciliation and New Beginnings

CHAPTER SEVEN: Gifts That Keep on Giving

CHAPTER EIGHT: Model Gifts

CHAPTER NINE: Giving To Good Ideas

CHAPTER TEN: Organizing Markets for Public Good

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Nonprofit Markets Can Be Organized, Too

CHAPTER TWELVE: What About Government?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: How Much Should You Give and Why?

The Daring Book for Girls

We all heard about how The Dangerous Book for Boys by brothers Conn and Hal Iggulden may have encouraged its young readers to injure themselves. Yet, it got boys away from their Xboxes.  Now it's the girls' turn with The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Perkowitz.

You may recognize the authors - Andrea is the author of Mother Shock: Tales from the First Year and Beyond -- Loving Every (Other) Minute of It and Miriam penned The Truth Behind the Mommy Wars: Who Decides What Makes a Good Mother?, which MOTHERS Book Bag featured in June 2005.

Whether readers and their moms consider themselves tomboys, girly-girls, or both, The Daring Book for Girls is a girl's invitation to adventure. The book serves as a manual for everything girls need to know from female heroes in history like Joan of Arc, to secret note-passing skills, science projects, and the five important karate moves.

The Daring Book for Girls sounds like a book both MOTHERS and daughters can enjoy TOGETHER this holiday season.

• Check out the official Daring Book for Girls website.
• Check out the Daring Book for Girls blog.
• Watch the YouTube video.