| Description: |
|
Product Description
Unmarried motherhood: we debate it, discourage it, even legislate against it, yet it has continued to increase, in a steady rise that epitomizes the enormous changes of the last half-century. In 1950, only four percent of American babies were born to mothers who were not married, and many of these children were subsequently adopted. Almost fifty years later that figure is up to nearly a third of all births--more than one million babies each year--and their mothers, whether they are teen- agers or professionals in their forties, now usually raise these children on their own.
This rapid and staggering change in family formation is the target of much vigorously argued commentary, but too little commonsense analysis. Melissa Ludtke, a career journalist who has specialized in writing about children and the family, has finally produced the first in-depth, objective examination of this emotionally charged issue. The result of years of research as well as interviewing and questioning experts representing all sides of the issue, the book is nevertheless a deeply personal one, interweaving Ludtke's findings with her own decade-long debate over whether to raise a child on her own. Her accessible approach takes us behind the statistics, framing mothers' vividly told remembrances with current scholarly insights, but never losing sight of the private, everyday details of women's lives.
Recognizing that unmarried mothers come from widely differing age groups and backgrounds, Ludtke focuses on the two extremes: teenagers and women over the age of thirty-five. While examining their contrasting circumstances, she locates surprising areas of common ground among these women who, regardless of age or income, have chosen to bypass marriage and raise children on their own, in spite of the struggle and the loneliness, in spite of society's harsh judgment. This ambitious, insightful, and moving investigation has already been endorsed by political leaders, sociologists, doctors, and journalists as the essential book on unmarried motherhood in our time.
Amazon.com Review
At the heart of the national debate about "family values" is the population of women who become mothers without first becoming wives. Some critics regard them as monsters, others as brave alternatives to traditional American families. Regardless of the way they're perceived, hundreds of thousands of unmarried women begin families each year. With a reporter's zeal (author Melissa Ludtke is a former correspondent for Time magazine, where her articles--including more than 20 cover stories--focused on family and children), an analyst's thirst for research, and a personal involvement with its subjects, the book is a compelling blend of stories and social commentary.
While much commented upon, unmarried mothers themselves rarely comment on their status, and Ludtke has gathered interviews of women from all rungs on the socioeconomic ladder, from teenagers to fortysomethings. The result is a thought-provoking and timely study that covers complicated issues and offers a forge-ahead attitude to choices often considered unconventional, such as donor insemination--its history and the issues it raises--and adoption. Discussions about accidental and intentional pregnancy, plus true-life stories alternating between the two sets of mothers--teens and older adults--represent only a portion of the ground covered.
|
