Opting in: Having a Child Without Losing Yourself

By Amy Richards and Dina Nayeri

Book Overview

For contemporary women, motherhood has become as polarizing a proposition as it is a powerful calling. For some women this tension is manifest in a debate over whether or not to have children. For others it concerns whether to stay at home with their children or stay in the workforce. Still others feel abandoned altogether by the supposedly pro-family and pro-mother social justice movement that is feminism and are at a loss when it comes to reconciling their maternal instincts with their political beliefs. With Opting In , Amy Richards addresses the anxiety over parenting that women face today in a book that mixes memoir, interviews, historical analysis, and feminist insight. In her refreshingly direct and thoughtful approach, Richards covers everything from the truth about our biological clocks and the trends toward extending fertility, to parenting with nature and nurturing in mind, to our relationship with our own mothers, to what feminism's relationship to motherhood is and always has been. Speaking from the vantage point of someone who is both a parent and one of our leading feminist activists, Richards cuts through the cacophony of voices intent on telling women the "appropriate" way to be a mother and reveals instead how to confidently forge your own path while staying true to yourself and your ideals.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374226725
• ISBN13: 9780374226725
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux-3pl
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Thoughtful and well-crafted

Amy Richards's Opting In is a marvelous piece of writing that addresses the sometimes interesting dichotomies of being both mother and feminist, and how those two identities should be one and the same rather than polarizing camps. With an eye toward established theory while at the same time quite willing to see the humor in absolutist thought, Richards has written a book that is both entertaining and thoughtful, with each chapter better than the last.

Feminist Mothers-To-Be, Rejoice!

Richards' book shines as a beacon of hope to frazzled, overstressed mothers: having a life outside of motherhood is entirely possible! It's about priorities, balance, and knowing your limits. Richards balances personal anecdotes with well-known feminist commentary. She cites the changes society has undergone to allow mothers and their parenting partners more flexibility in the workplace and beyond. A must-read for mothers, mothers-to-be, fathers, partners, EVERYONE!

Personal Indeed Political

Richards book is carefully researched with a plethora of women's voices on motherhood. Richards is the Third Wave feminist version of Doctor Spock. Her writing is a vital contribution to the feminist movement as it underscores the importance of choice in motherhood. Richards draws on personal experiences, and interviews with other mothers, to demonstrate that whom we co-parent with is just as important as how we parent. Richards acknowledges the difficulties of balancing personal and professional, and hi-lites research that demonstrates how our personal decisions impact the political movement of feminism.