The Mask of Motherhood: How Becoming a Mother Changes Our Lives and Why We Never Talk About It

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Summary: For Every New Mother or Mother-To-Be
Review: This is not a self-help book, but a sociological examination of modern motherhood. Yet, it was one of the most helpful books I've read so far (pregnant with my first). So often I have felt that I must be losing my mind and this book tells me that not only is that completely normal, but that I sort of have a right to, considering what becoming a mother entails.

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Summary: An outstanding addition to the literature on motherhood.
Review: What a refreshing, intelligent, and witty examination of motherhood! I received this from a friend the same day I heard an interview with the author on public radio last week, and I have been reading--and enjoying--it in my free time since then (in what little free time I have, that is, as a mother with a full-time job). The author, a mother of three herself, writes with great candor, insight, and humor. She has examined her own experience, as well as the academic and popular literature on the topic, and she has created an astounding document that is forcing me to re-think my own assumptions about and approach to mothering. As I read, I want to share this book with my sister, a profoundly intelligent and funny mother of five, and my co-worker, who will soon have her first child. Any mother or future mother should read this. I would also recommend it to mental health professionals who are looking for insights to help their clients deal with the ambivalencies of motherhood.

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Summary: Validating and thought-provoking
Review: While some people may describe this book as depressing, I found it quite the opposite. If nothing else, it's confirmation for many new mothers that they aren't crazy (or incompetent) for feeling overwhelmed, ambivalent and downright confused. Instead of simply grousing, the author explores why motherhood is surrounded by so much false advertising. This is not a kids-are-bad book. As a first-time mother who was struggling with my new role, I found Maushart's insights validating and refreshingly honest.

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Summary: Dangerous discouragement of a natural part of motherhood
Review: While this book is disguised as "the REAL truth about how motherhood changes your life," its chapter about breastfeeding is one of the most dangerous diatribes I've seen yet, even beating out books such as "Bottlefeeding Without Guilt." Maushart's "it's too bothersome to breastfeed" bias is especially obvious in her choice of words, such as a line about how mothers who nurse their babies are more likely to be "DISTURBED" by their children between midnight and 5 a.m. If you consider yourself DISTURBED when your child wants to see you, day, night, whenever, you've got a problem, and nobody said you HAD to become a mom.

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Summary: Delightfully Intriguing! (From a man, father, son)
Review: Yes. I am happy to have found this book and read it. The struggle that women have when becoming a mother and the feelings that are expressed about that struggle are interesting as well as honest in this book. It was nice to help me understand what my wife has gone through, why she may feel the way she does at times, and gave me encouragement to remember her feelings during certain issues. I would also recomend that every woman read the mans point of view in a delightful novella "Drivetime: Finding a Way Home."