Ellen Blum Barish

Kirkus Discoveries Review: December 2007

A working mother offers insight on parenting and living a rich life.

For much of her life as a mother, Barish has worked from home as a writer, crafting columns about parenting based on her own experience as well as conversations with other mothers. This slim volume gathers a selection of those pieces written over more than ten years of being a parent to two daughters. In each piece, the author addresses an aspect of motherhood and family life, ranging from whether she should rein in a daughter who lives for the competitive edge to tackling her older daughter's questions about sex. She also covers the needs of mothers: reconnecting with herself through yoga, claiming time and space for her work as a writer and taking the occasional getaway vacation without the kids. Through these short reflections, the reader follows the author's daughters as they grow up and as Barish herself grows as a woman and mother. She describes how just as a parent is feeling comfortable and confident about how to relate to the current stage in a child's life, she is already growing into a new phase--a cycle that continues even after a daughter leaves for college. Throughout the book, Barish discusses her evolving relationships with her daughters, as what they need from their mother changes over the years. In a later essay, the author revisits the "mission statement" for motherhood she wrote when the girls were young and reflects on how it has stood the test of time. As a collection of newspaper columns, this is more a series of brief conversations with a mother who's been there and who has sought out the experiences of other mothers, than an in-depth examination of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Barish's heartfelt, thoughtful style makes her stories ring true.

Quick doses of wisdom and solidarity for women at all stages of motherhood.

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