It's a Girl: Women Writers on Raising Daughters

By Andrea J. Buchanan

The most popular question any pregnant woman is asked - aside from When are you due?" - has got to be "Are you having a girl or a boy?" When author Andrea Buchanan was pregnant with her daughter, she was thrilled to be expecting a girl. Some people were happy for her; visions of flouncy pink dresses and promises of mother-daughter bonding were the predictable responses. Other people, though, were concerned: "Is your husband OK with that?" "You can try again." "Girls are tough." This mixed message led her to explore the issue herself, with help from her fellow writers and moms, many of whom had had the same experience. As she did in It's a Boy: Women Writers on Raising Sons, Buchanan and her contributors take on what it's really like to raise a child-in this case, a girl-from babyhood to adulthood. It's a Girl, is a wide-ranging, often humorous, and honest collection of essays about the experience of the mother-daughter bond, taking on topics like "princess power" ("Shining, Shimmering, Splendid"), adding a girl to a brood of boys ("Confessions of a Tomboy Mom"), dealing with a daughter's eating disorder ("The Food Rules"), and mothering "hardcore mini-feminists" ("Tough Girls"). "

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1580051472
• ISBN13: 9781580051477
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Seal Press (CA)
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

IF you have a teenage daughter...JUST GET THIS BOOK

My husband brought this home for me and I tossed it on the book shelf for two years. I opened it last week and read and read and cried and laughed and when I put it down, I went to the computer and bought six copies, and will buy more to give to everyone I know with a teenage daughter. Read the story on page 199. it will KILL you! Amazing. And the one on page 36. I LOVE these women. Thanks Andrea. Sandy E.

My wife loves it!

I bought this book and the one called "It's a Boy", for my wife as X-mas gifts. She loves them both. I don't think she has finished them yet. But she said that I should read them.

Thoughtful moms

I found these essays deeply engaging and thought-provoking. In the course of reading the book, I realized how much more conflicted I am about my parenting decisions regarding my daughter than my son, how much more worried I am that she might not be a self-confident adult. The authors offer no answers, but their insights were meaningful to me, and I've recommended the book to at least a half-dozen friends of mine.