Releasing the Mother Load


Book Description

WINNER OF THE CHILD PSYCHOLOGY GOLD AWARD FOR LITERARY EXCELLENCE BY THE INSTITUTE OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY. "If you've ever felt like you're the only one struggling with motherhood, this book is for you."—Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play An empowering guide that helps you unburden the load of impossible expectations and reshapes your internalized ideals, expectations, and beliefs around motherhood. Every mom wants to be a good parent—but if you’ve found yourself burned out and overwhelmed trying to be “the perfect mom,” you’re not alone. “We get handed a rulebook of motherhood without realizing it,” says Canada's maternal mental health specialist and the founder and CEO of Momwell Erica Djossa. “That rulebook comes with an invisible load—a world of mental and physical tasks that keep us pushing toward perfection while barely being able to breathe.” Here she shares a guide to help you break free from the crushing burden of unrealistic expectations and reclaim the joy of motherhood while staying true to your own values. Join her to explore: Where the Mother Load comes from, and why it doesn’t serve us or our children The true emotional and physical cost of the many jobs, habits, and beliefs we carry Tools to establish strong boundaries, express your needs, and build a support system Practical guidance to help you create a healthy, balanced, and enriching approach to motherhood “You can chart your own journey in a way that is freeing, feels right to you, and reignites passions and dreams that you thought had died when you began to put everyone else’s needs first,” says Erica Djossa. Discover a new vision of motherhood that empowers you to parent more freely and with greater fulfillment—so you can finally release the Mother Load.




Releasing the Mother Load


Book Description




All the Rage


Book Description

Why do men do so little at home? Why do women do so much? Why don't our egalitarian values match our lived experiences? Journalist-turned-psychologist Darcy Lockman offers a clear-eyed look at the most pernicious problem facing modern parents—how progressive relationships become traditional ones when children are introduced into the household. In an era of seemingly unprecedented feminist activism, enlightenment, and change, data shows that one area of gender inequality stubbornly persists: the disproportionate amount of parental work that falls to women, no matter their background, class, or professional status. All the Rage investigates the cause of this pervasive inequity to answer why, in households where both parents work full-time and agree that tasks should be equally shared, mothers’ household management, mental labor, and childcare contributions still outweigh fathers’. How, in a culture that pays lip service to women’s equality and lauds the benefits of father involvement—benefits that extend far beyond the well-being of the kids themselves—can a commitment to fairness in marriage melt away upon the arrival of children? Counting on male partners who will share the burden, women today have been left with what political scientists call unfulfilled, rising expectations. Historically these unmet expectations lie at the heart of revolutions, insurgencies, and civil unrest. If so many couples are living this way, and so many women are angered or just exhausted by it, why do we remain so stuck? Where is our revolution, our insurgency, our civil unrest? Darcy Lockman drills deep to find answers, exploring how the feminist promise of true domestic partnership almost never, in fact, comes to pass. Starting with her own marriage as a ground zero case study, she moves outward, chronicling the experiences of a diverse cross-section of women raising children with men; visiting new mothers’ groups and pioneering co-parenting specialists; and interviewing experts across academic fields, from gender studies professors and anthropologists to neuroscientists and primatologists. Lockman identifies three tenets that have upheld the cultural gender division of labor and peels back the ways in which both men and women unintentionally perpetuate old norms. If we can all agree that equal pay for equal work should be a given, can the same apply to unpaid work? Can justice finally come home?




The Swedish Way to Parent and Play: Advice for Raising Gender-Equal Kids


Book Description

Enter a world where Batman does the dishes and Barbie fights crime In the US and around the world, people are striving to close the gender gap. Ranked fifth globally for gender equality, Sweden is doing something right. But to truly close the gap, Swedish experts Kristina Henkel and Marie Tomicic know that we have to start at the beginning, with the daily gender traps and stumbling blocks that cause us to view our children one-dimensionally and limit their potential. In The Swedish Way to Parent and Play, Henkel and Tomicic share practical strategies and tips covering play and friendship, emotions and self-esteem, and language and body, to help parents and teachers support children’s development as unique individuals. The point is not that boys should wear dresses and girls can’t play with dolls, or that all children should be the same. Gender equality is about variety; it’s about showing children 100 possible ways to be instead of just two.




Difficult Mothers, Adult Daughters


Book Description

“An empowering book . . . strategies for freeing yourself from the control of an unhealthy mother relationship.” —Susan Forward PhD, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Toxic Parents For any adult daughter who struggles with a narcissistic, controlling, or otherwise difficult mother, here’s the good news: Your mother doesn't have to change in order for you to be happy. Inspired by her own journey, Karen C.L. Anderson shows women how to emotionally separate from their difficult mothers without guilt and anxiety, so they can finally create a life based on their own values, desires, needs, and preferences. With personal stories, practical tools, and journal prompts that can be used now to feel better. Anderson compassionately leads women struggling in their relationships with their difficult mothers through a process of self-awareness and understanding. Her experience with hundreds of women has resulted in cases of profound growth and transformation. This book is about Anderson discovering and accepting the whole of who she is (separate from her mother), and—in relatable, real, funny, and compassionate prose—making her discoveries accessible to women struggling to redefine their own challenging relationships with their mothers. Learn: · Why mothers and daughters can have difficult relationships · How to heal and transform your mother “wounds” · How to tell your stories in a way that empowers · How to handle the uncomfortable emotions that seem inevitable · The art of creating, articulating, and maintaining impeccable boundaries · How to stop “shouldering” How to “re-mother” yourself and acknowledge, honor, and meet your needs




Mother of Invention


Book Description

An illuminating and maddening examination of how gender bias has skewed innovation, technology, and history—now in paperback It all starts with a rolling suitcase. Though the wheel was invented some 5,000 years ago, and the suitcase in the 19th century, it wasn’t until the 1970s that someone successfully married the two. What was the holdup? For writer and journalist Katrine Marçal, the answer is both shocking and simple: because “real men” carried their bags, no matter how heavy. Mother of Invention is a fascinating and eye-opening examination of business, technology, and innovation through a feminist lens. Because it wasn’t just the suitcase. Drawing on examples from electric cars to tech billionaires, Marçal shows how gender bias stifles the economy and holds us back, delaying innovations, sometimes by hundreds of years, and distorting our understanding of our history. While we talk about the Iron Age and the Bronze Age, we might as well talk about the Ceramic Age or the Flax Age, since these technologies were just as important. But inventions associated with women are not considered to be technology in the same way as those associated with men. Mother of Invention is a sweeping tour of the global economy with a powerful message: If we upend our biases, we can unleash our full potential.




Making Peace with Autism


Book Description

Receiving a diagnosis of autism is a major crisis for parents and families, who often feel as if their world has come to an end. In this insightful narrative, a courageous and inspiring mother explains why a diagnosis of autism doesn't have to shatter a family's dreams of happiness. Senator offers the hard-won, in-the-trenches wisdom of someone who's been there and is still there today—and she demonstrates how families can find courage, contentment, and connection in the shadow of autism. In Making Peace with Autism, Susan Senator describes her own journey raising a child with a severe autism spectrum disorder, along with two other typically developing boys. Without offering a miracle treatment or cure, Senator offers valuable strategies for coping successfully with the daily struggles of life with an autistic child. Along the way she models the combination of stamina and courage, openness, and humor that has helped her family to survive—and even to thrive. Topics include: the agony of diagnosis, grieving and acceptance, finding the right school program, helping siblings with their struggles and concerns, having fun together, and keeping the marriage strong.




The Pronoun Lowdown


Book Description

Dismantle the messy myth of gender with this colourful, approachable book. We find ourselves at an exciting moment in history. For the first time, trans and gender diverse people are being seen and heard. Thanks to tireless activism, and an increased visibility worldwide, these lived experiences (the joyful, and the painful) are no longer able to be ignored. And so, The Pronoun Lowdown is here to demystify and celebrate trans and gender diverse excellence. Woven together with author Nevo Zisin’s own pronoun journey, this colourful hardback sheds light on the complicated history of gender around the world, in language and across time. Nevo shares their ideas for how young trans and gender diverse folk might begin to navigate their identities, as well as simple suggestions for friends and family on how to provide the best support possible. And, as well as Nevo’s own anecdotes, these pages also salute the tireless work of other LGBTQIA+ trailblazers and activists – without whom this joyous book could never exist. Everyone deserves to have their identify affirmed by their friends, families, and the world through which they move. The Pronoun Lowdown celebrates trans and gender diverse identities, in all their fluid and imperfect perfection!




Release My Grip


Book Description

Saying goodbye to a child as they leave the nest and learn to fly ushers parents into an emotional time of grief, joy and nostalgia. Release My Grip, by popular blogger Kami Gilmour, offers inspiration and practical insight as she reveals the surprising truth she learned while knee-deep in this sacred season of parenthood. Often humorous and always honest and hope-filled, these stories have equipped and encouraged the hearts of millions on the popular SoulFeed blog. In this keepsake book, you'll discover how this time can be fertile ground for deepening your relationship with Jesus. You'll also gain the practical tools you need to help you pause, reflect, and capture the words on your heart during your own unique journey as a parent of a young adult fledgling--from high school graduation through the years that follow. With every chapter of Release My Grip, you'll find: - Compelling reflection questions that draw you into the peace of God's presence and promise, gently shifting your focus from the loss you feel to the richness and hope of a new season that's just beginning. - Relevant Scriptures to ponder--words that reveal God's heart, bringing relief and hope in the midst of wondering and worrying. - Practical challenges that help you adjust to the rhythm of life's "new normal" and maintain meaningful connection with your young adult child. - Journaling spaces that make it easy to capture your letting-go journey as it unfolds, making this book a treasured keepsake to reflect back upon.




The Diamond Approach


Book Description

A revised and expanded edition of the definitive guide to the Diamond Approach, the modern contemplative practice that integrates psychology and spirituality and emphasizes the importance of self-inquiry. The Diamond Approach has been developed and taught over the last forty-five years by Hameed Ali, who is known chiefly by his pen name, A. H. Almaas. This book, the first to offer a full overview of the Diamond Approach, is now revised and expanded with a new foreword by Almaas, a new preface by the author, and a new chapter that explores the most recent developments in Almaas's teaching and practice methods. Author John Davis offers a rich, compelling introduction to the unique spiritual tradition that philosopher Ken Wilber recommends as "the most balanced of the widely available spiritual psychologies/therapies." Influenced by ancient traditions such as Sufism and Buddhism as well as by modern psychology, the Diamond Approach is particularly well-suited to twenty-first century seekers who embrace both spirituality and science. Beginning with an account of his own work with the Diamond Approach, Davis proceeds to outline the tradition's central practice of Inquiry, a form of open-ended exploration of present-moment experience akin to mindfulness practice. From there, he launches readers into an exploration of metaphysical concepts such as soul, space, Essence, self-realization, and the dimensions of Being. Complex yet concise, profound yet accessible, The Diamond Approach offers readers bold new perspectives on reality and human potential.