The Mother of All Jobs is about the battle to make modern working parenting actually work. If not for our own sanity, then perhaps for our children's. Have you ever looked at the lengthy school holiday dates and silently screamed in desperation? Have you gone part time yet are still doing a full-time workload? Have you ever been too afraid to ask about maternity benefits or flexible working? Do you constantly feel guilty about missing school events and secretly envious of other mums at the school gates who seem to be doing it all better than you? If any (or all) of the above rings true for you, you are NOT alone. While the demands of work are increasing with longer working hours and more pressure to remain 'switched on' to our phones and computers, the needs of our children and the world of school and childcare have stayed the same. Something has got to change before we all reach breaking point. The Mother of All Jobs brings together the wisdom of women who opened up about their experiences into a manifesto to help working parents thrive.

Part-Time Mother, Full-Time Life is the true story of a womans personal and spiritual awakening. Divorced, with joint, but not physical custody of her three young children, she completed a Ph.D. in Communication in the Family. As a part-time mother, she developed a more intimate involvement with the children than she had previously experienced. Authentic love emerged for her children and herself, empowering them all. From power struggles to cooperation, from painful mistakes to small victories, she gradually learned to stand up for herself and for the children. She also found authenticity as a writer who redefined motherhood and family, seeking to free them of cultural definitions, allowing the childrens wisdom and true natures to be revealed and supported. This is an inspirational story for todays women who face these or similar challenges. An elegant, honest, often humorous writer whose very personal story describes the experience of awakening and empowering herself and her children. Readers can feel encouraged in their own journeys to become their genuine selves. Lively, engaging inner roadmap of conversations good for women, children and men. Charles J. O'Leary, author of The Practice of Person-Centered Couple and Family Therapy How does a woman, who was unmothered herself, learn to mother her own children? The real message of this book is that lovescarred and battle-wearystill has validity as a lifeline that growth need not be stopped by near-overwhelming confusion and constant sorrow. Carol Bedwell, Ph.D, chair, Foreign Languages, Univ. of Wisconsin (retired) Your writing touches me. You are BOLD! Im inspired! Im adopting you as a mother! Karin Braun, Metal-smith

Are you struggling to connect with your child now that they've left the nest? Are you feeling the tension and heartache as your relationship dynamic begins to change? In Doing Life with Your Adult Children, bestselling author and parenting expert Jim Burns provides practical advice and hopeful encouragement for navigating this tough yet rewarding transition. If you've raised a child, you know that parenting doesn't stop when they turn eighteen. In many ways, your relationship gets even more complicated--your heart and your head are as involved as ever, but you can feel things shifting, whether your child lives under your roof or rarely stays in contact. Doing Life with Your Adult Children helps you navigate this rich and challenging season of parenting. Speaking from his own personal and professional experience, Burns offers practical answers to the most common questions he's received over the years, including: My child's choices are breaking my heart--where did I go wrong? Is it OK to give advice to my grown child? What's the difference between enabling and helping? What boundaries should I have if my child moves back home? What do I do when my child doesn't seem to be maturing into adulthood? How do I relate to my grown child's significant other? What does it mean to have healthy financial boundaries? How can I support my grown children when I don't support their values? Including positive principles on bringing kids back to faith, ideas on how to leave a legacy as a grandparent, and encouragement for every changing season, Doing Life with Your Adult Children is a unique book on your changing role in a calling that never ends.

Who was your mother before she was a mother? Essays and photos from Brit Bennett, Jennifer Egan, Danzy Senna, Laura Lippman, Jia Tolentino, and many more. In this remarkable collection, New York Times–bestselling novelist Edan Lepucki gathers more than sixty original essays and favorite photographs to explore this question. The daughters in Mothers Before are writers and poets, artists and teachers, and the images and stories they share reveal the lives of women in ways that are vulnerable and true, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and always moving. Contributors include: Brit Bennett * Jennine Capó Crucet * Jennifer Egan * Angela Garbes * Annabeth Gish * Alison Roman * Lisa See * Danzy Senna * Dana Spiotta * Lan Samantha Chang * Laura Lippman * Jia Tolentino * Tiffany Nguyen * Charmaine Craig * Maya Ramakrishnan * Eirene Donohue * and many others

A powerful look at the importance of a mother’s presence in the first years of life **Featured in The Wall Street Journal, and seen on Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, and CBS New York** In this important and empowering book, veteran psychoanalyst Erica Komisar explains why a mother's emotional and physical presence in her child's life--especially during the first three years--gives the child a greater chance of growing up emotionally healthy, happy, secure, and resilient. In other words, when it comes to connecting with your baby or toddler, more is more. Compassionate and balanced, and focusing on the emotional health of children and moms alike, this book shows parents how to give their little ones the best chance for developing into healthy and loving adults. Based on more than two decades of clinical work, established psychoanalytic theory, and the most cutting-edge neurobiological research on caregiving, attachment, and brain development, Being There explains: • How to establish emotional connection with a newborn or young child--regardless of whether you're able to work part-time or stay home • How to ease transitions to minimize stress for your baby or toddler • How to select and train quality childcare • What's true and false about widely held beliefs like "I'm not good with babies" and “I’ll make up for it when he’s older” • How to recognize and combat feelings of postpartum depression or boredom • Why three months of maternity leave is not long enough--and how parents can take control of their choices to provide for their family's emotional needs in the first three years Being a new mom isn’t easy. But with support, emotional awareness, and coping skills, it can be the most magical—and essential—work we’ll ever do.

Whatever their unique circumstances, all Catholic working moms have three things in common: (1) They are Catholic, striving to live out the Faith in every aspect of their lives. (2) They are working, some by choice, and some by necessity. (3) Most prominently, they are mothers — knowing that's the most important responsibility they will ever have. In The Catholic Working Mom's Guide to Life, JoAnna Wahlund speaks to the plethora of Catholic women who are looking for other moms with whom to relate, moms who understand the unique challenges of juggling motherhood and work. This book sums up what JoAnna has discovered about life as a Catholic working mom. In this book you will learn about: The large community of other Catholic working moms Inspirational saints for working mothers How to find peace whether you decide to work or not — and how to discern what's right for your family How to juggle home and family responsibilities while working Practical advice on child-care, pregnancy, and maternity leave The importance of prayer and fellowship Find the peace and strength God wants for you as a Catholic working mother. Click here to register for the related webcast

A much-needed perspective on how to mother difficult adult children while balancing one’s own needs. Difficult brings to life the conflicts that arise for mothers who are confronted with the unexpected, burdensome, and even catastrophic dependencies of their adult children associated with mental illness, substance use, or chronic unemployment. Through real stories of mothers and their challenging adult children, this book offers relatable, provocative, and, at times, shocking illustrations of the excruciating maternal dilemma: Which takes precedence—the needs of the mother or of the distressed adult child? With guidance for finding social support, staying safe, engaging in self-care, and helping the adult child, Difficult is a compassionate resource for those living in a family situation which too many keep secret and allows readers to see that they are not alone.