Ordinary Insanity: Fear and the Silent Crisis of Motherhood in America

Description

A groundbreaking exposé and diagnosis of the silent epidemic of fear afflicting new mothers, and a candid, feminist deep dive into the culture, science, history, and psychology of contemporary motherhood Anxiety among mothers is a growing but largely unrecognized crisis. In the transition to mother­hood and the years that follow, countless women suffer from overwhelming feelings of fear, grief, and obsession that do not fit neatly within the outmoded category of “postpartum depression.” These women soon discover that there is precious little support or time for their care, even as expectations about what mothers should do and be continue to rise. Many struggle to distinguish normal worry from crippling madness in a culture in which their anxiety is often ignored, normalized, or, most dangerously, seen as taboo. Drawing on extensive research, numerous interviews, and the raw particulars of her own experience with anxiety, writer and mother Sarah Menkedick gives us a comprehensive examination of the biology, psychology, history, and societal conditions surrounding the crushing and life-limiting fear that has become the norm for so many. Woven into the stories of women’s lives is an examination of the factors—such as the changing structure of the maternal brain, the ethically problematic ways risk is construed during pregnancy, and the marginalization of motherhood as an identity—that explore how motherhood came to be an experience so dominated by anxiety, and how mothers might reclaim it. Writing with profound empathy, visceral honesty, and deep understanding, Menkedick makes clear how critically we need to expand our awareness of, compassion for, and care for women’s lives.

Get the book

Amazon.com

Search the book

eBay.com

Search the book

Similar books

• 

  EBOOK: The Stata Survival Manual

  By David Pevalin, Karen Robson

  Timberlake website Another useful website is www.timberlake.co.uk. Timberlake Consultants is a statistical consultancy company that also distributes and ...

• 

  Brooks/Cole Empowerment Series: Understanding Generalist Practice

  By Karen K. Kirst-Ashman, Grafton H. Hull

  Timberlake, E. M., Farber, M. Z., & Sabatino, C. A. (2002). The general method of social work practice (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Timberlake, E. M. ...

• 

  The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-Inch Heels and Faux Pas

  By Karen Robinovitz, Melissa de la Cruz

  All Out of Love • Madonna: The Immaculate Collection • Erasure: Circus Justin Timberlake. Justified - - - - - - - - - - * 75% + T H E FAS H ...

• 

  Asian Americans Information Directory: A Guide to Organizations, Agencies, Institutions, Programs, Publications, and Services Concerned with Asian American Nationalities and...

  By Karen Backus

  + 3590 + Hmong from Laos c / o Assoc . of Hmong in Illinois 4554 N ... Veteran ' s Alliance 1544 Timberlake Rd . St . Paul , MN 55117 Vue Yang , Vice Pres .

• 

  Marriage and Cohabitation

  By Arland Thornton, William G. Axinn, Yu Xie

  ... is much higher than in the United States, with the prevalence in France being perhaps the highest (Heuveline and Timberlake 2004; Toulemon 1997).

• 

  Native American Verbal Art: Texts and Contexts

  By William M. Clements

  HENRY TIMBERLAKE'S CHEROKEE WAR SONG 1. That Timberlake's memoir contains the first English translation of the words of a Native American song seems to have ...

• 

  Oratory in Native North America

  By William M. Clements

  But Timberlake seems to have had a bit more literary sensitivity - suggested by his translation of the Cherokee war song in his memoirs - than these earlier ...

• 

  Contemporary Urban Sociology

  By William G. Flanagan

  Timberlake , Michael . 1985. " The World System Perspective and Urbanization . ” In Michael Timberlake ( ed . ) , Urbanization in the World Economy , 3-4 .

• 

  The Bhopal Tragedy: Language, Logic, And Politics In The Production Of A Hazard

  By William Bogard

  The poor tend to live in dwellings that are structurally unsuited to withstand the impact of environmental extremes (Wijkman and Timberlake 1984, pp.

• 

  The Archaeological Guide to Iowa

  By William E. Whittaker, Lynn M. Alex, Mary De La Garza

  To display and share his discoveries, in 1940 Johnson built the Timberlake Museum on his farm. It remained open to the public during the summer and for ...