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Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood
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About This Book
"If this book feels like it's sounding the alarm on the state of American motherhood, well, that's because it is." -- San Francisco Chronicle In this timely and necessary book, New York Times opinion writer Jessica Grose dismantles two hundred years of unrealistic parenting expectations and empowers today's mothers to make choices that actually serve themselves, their children, and their communities Close your eyes and picture the perfect mother. She is usually blonde and thin. Her roots are never showing and she installed that gleaming kitchen backsplash herself (watch her TikTok for DIY tips). She seamlessly melds work, wellness and home; and during the depths of the pandemic, she also ran remote school and woke up at 5 a.m. to meditate. You may read this and think it's bananas; you have probably internalized much of it. Journalist Jessica Grose sure had. After she failed to meet every one of her own expectations for her first pregnancy, she devoted her career to revealing how morally bankrupt so many of these ideas and pressures are. Now, in Screaming on the Inside, Grose weaves together her personal journey with scientific, historical, and contemporary reporting to be the voice for American parents she wishes she'd had a decade ago. The truth is that parenting cannot follow a recipe; there's no foolproof set of rules that will result in a perfectly adjusted child. Every parent has different values, and we will have different ideas about how to pass those values along to our children. What successful parenting has in common, regardless of culture or community, is close observation of the kind of unique humans our children are. In thoughtful and revelatory chapters about pregnancy, identity, work, social media, and the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic, Grose explains how we got to this moment, why the current state of expectations on mothers is wholly unsustainable, and how we can move towards something better.
Reviews
"A deeply researched and highly relatable analysis of American motherhood, past and present."
"This notion feels almost reactionary amid the bolder ideas this book champions."
"The myths surrounding motherhood are persistent, but the author empowers readers with the idea that they can help create change."
"Though the info might not be surprising, this is a validating look at contemporary parenting."
"Ultimately, Grose is a very engaging writer, but one is not certain she has fully absorbed that it really is her life, and her life alone."
"It's hard to imagine a mother (or other) who won't feel seen somewhere in Grose's accessible, empathetic, data-driven report."
"Her book is equal parts memoir, journalism, cultural criticism and manifesto, and it would make an excellent holiday gift for a loved one who is considering having a child and really shouldn't ..."
"Grose is candid about her own experience as a mother, and moving stories from other women who have felt the weight of 'unrealistic, elitist, and bigoted expectations' add heft to her survey."
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