The book takes a holistic approach to highlight and explore the range of issues specifically associated with mothering and imprisonment, from sentencing, through custody to resettlement and focusing on the perspective of mothers and their children.

Explores how women in prison manage to mother their children from behind bars.

The majority of female inmates are also mothers of children under the age of eighteen. These women don't stop being mothers when they receive a prison sentence, but in fact try a variety of means to maintain motherhood and mothering while away from their children. Based on research conducted in a women's prison, Mothering from the Inside reveals how inmate mothers find places for their children to live, manage relationships with caregivers, demonstrate their fitness as mothers, and negotiate rights to their children under challenging circumstances. The impact of race, ethnicity, and marginality on women in prison is traced through the development of the women's motherhood careers.

The book takes a holistic approach to highlight and explore the range of issues specifically associated with mothering and imprisonment, from sentencing, through custody to resettlement and focusing on the perspective of mothers and their children.

Every woman longs to be a good mother. But what about those women who grew up “undermothered”—whose own mothers were well-meaning but unavailable, absent, distracted, or depressed? How are they to become the good mothers they aspire to be? In this beautifully articulate book, Kathryn Black, whose own mother’s early death inspired her award-winning In the Shadow of Polio, offers affirming news: One doesn’t have to have had a good mother to become one. Probing for answers from experts in psychiatry and psychoanalysis, social work, biology, and other disciplines, Black reveals that there are other paths to discovering the good mother within. This moving and powerful book shows how “wounded daughters” can become “healing mothers” who give their own children a legacy of security, happiness, and love. On the web: http://www.motheringwithoutamap.com

"Wit and wisdom for every mother, everywhere."--ERIN LOECHNER, author of Chasing Slow Becoming a better, happier mom starts with the stories you tell your kids As a mom, you want to nurture a strong family, but fear steals your joy. Sometimes you wonder if you're failing your children or whether you're cut out for this. Beloved writer and mom of seven Jennifer Pepito understands. She was intent on loving her children well, but fear and worry pushed her around. Ultimately, she found her joy in a most surprising place: the pages of classic literature she was reading aloud to her children every day. These stories helped her reclaim the wonder of childhood for herself and her children. In Mothering by the Book, Jennifer takes you on a fascinating, whimsical journey that will bring freedom and fun to your parenting--one great book at a time.

Mixed feelings about motherhood—uncertainty over having a child, fears of pregnancy and childbirth, or negative thoughts about one’s own children—are not just hard to discuss, they are a powerful social taboo. In this beautifully written book, Barbara Almond brings this troubling issue to light. She uncovers the roots of ambivalence, tells how it manifests in lives of women and their children, and describes a spectrum of maternal behavior—from normal feelings to highly disturbed mothering. In a society where perfection in parenting is the unattainable ideal, this compassionate book also shows how women can affect positive change in their lives.