Rating: 
Summary: Nuggets of Wisdom
Review: STRONG STUFF is to be read slowly so the stories and advice within can be savored and contemplated. In their stories mothers let slip simple but powerful nuggets of parenting wisdom. For me, the advice of Louise Callahn (Affirmation section, pg398) offers some of the best in the book..."I will never say 'no' if I can say 'yes' ". This hint may seem simple but so often we jump to 'no' without a thought. The variety of the women's backgrounds is impressive. Each of us will find some of our parenting experiences and predicaments here. I highly recommend this book for new mothers who are wondering what they got themselves into. STRONG STUFF is a wonderful source for women traveling the tricky terrain of mothering.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting
Review: The title says it all-- this is strong stuff indeed. No sugar coating, no hearts and flowers-- just very real women talking about very real life. Oral history at its best. I couldn't put it down. Refreshingly enough, the author doesn't have any personal or ideological axe to grind-- she just lets the women talk. And what they say is just awesome. This book ought to be on Oprah's list!
Rating:
Summary: Sisterhood of Motherhood
Review: There are many books about motherhood; this book, however, is remarkably different. I approached this book ready to compare my mothering skills with the women in this book - the old "how did I do" syndrome. Those thoughts quickly evaporated as I listened to the voices of these women. Although they are from a variety of backgrounds with different life experiences, this book reinforces for me the kinship of mothers. I read the whole book in one sitting, but have felt compelled to re-read many chapters to learn more about the lives of these real women. This is truly a marvelous book.
Rating:
Summary: Exploring Motherhood
Review: This book does more than explore motherhood. It invites you on an expedition. When you read it, you explore all of the faces of motherhood. The interviews allow you to see motherhood from the perspective of adopted children and adoptive parents and mothers addicted to cocaine and overprotective mothers and young mothers and older mothers. It allows the reader to identify with some stories and to understand for the first time the perspective of other mothers. The expedition is wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Eyeball to Eyeball with Reality
Review: This collection of descriptions by more than 100 diverse women is very powerful, because these women tell their own stories in their own words, with no hype, or buffing, or spin, or overview by anybody. And they are therefore very very real and many are quite compelling, for various reasons. It is a voyeur's paradise. What aware man hasn't wondered what it's really like to be a mother. What woman doesn't want to know what other mothers' experience is really like? There is an index of topics which helps get a handle on the mass of text. And the book is divided into seven theme-sections, each with an introduction by the author, where in her own voice she addresses an element of the mothering experience. Because the vignettes are each a few pages long, the book can be read in snips at different times without losing continuity. Moore does for mothering what Studs Terkel did for working. But to my reading, the sensitivity here is much greater, and in the long run, the topic much more compelling. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: My book explores the diversity of mothers' experiences.
Review: This is the book I wished I had when my children were little, 20 years ago. Now that it finally exists, I want lots of people, especially mothers, but others too, to benefit from it. When you discover how wonderful it is, I hope you will spread the word! Strong Stuff will make great gifts for the holidays! There is no agent helping to market this book. I need you! In Strong Stuff: Mothers' Stories eighty-four American mothers tell their own stories, intimately, candidly, in their own words. These women form a cross section of the mothers in America today: rich and poor; black, white, Hispanic, Native American, and Asian American; Jewish, Catholic, protestant, and Amish; married and single; lesbian and straight; employed in a variety of occupations and at-home-by-choice; mothers in prison; teenage mothers and mothers who are great-grandmothers; Midwest farm mothers, mothers from New England, the South, and the West; homeless mothers; mothers of only children and mothers of many, many children; adoptive mothers and step-mothers. The individual stories are grouped into seven chapters. Each chapter has a brief introduction, which is followed by the stories. Chapters are: • Identity • Lessons & Traditions • Challenge • Violence • Loss • Mothers and Fathers • Affirmation Each story begins with a woman's name (pseudonym), a quote called out from the story, and a few introductory sentences about the mother and her connection to this particular chapter. An INDEX of issues and of mothers' situations makes it easy for anyone to find all references, for instance, to teenage mothers or to managing teenagers. Strong Stuff explores and celebrates the diversity of the experience of being a mother. I wrote it in the hope of helping women become the mothers they want to be. It is also a book for a woman of any age who wants to better understand herself and her own mother. It is a great book for anyone who appreciates the richness of the human experience when it is candidly expressed. My brother, who is a psychiatrist, says, "You're hooked the minute you start! It's like a breath of real air."
Rating:
Summary: Clear and Varied Accounts of Mothering
Review: What a pleasure to find this book! I've just become a grandmother and so I was looking at motherhood with fresh eyes. The variety of voices and experiences included in "Strong Stuff" is what impressed me most. I read casually at first. Then I searched for special topics such as "twins", "children with special needs", "grandparents", "adoption" and "mental health issues" and found them all. The writing is heartfelt, wise and honest. Difficult and daily life subjects are dealt with courageously and with humor. Emily Moore gives dignity and breadth to a subject that is both familiar and continually new. I was eager to pass this book on to my daughter!
Rating:
Summary: Genuine Personal Stories
Review: What a wonderful book! Though I am a man and so unable to stake a claim to mothering, I have a mother, I work with mothers, I have friends and family who are mothers, we all work to understand our own mothers and the tremendous influence they have in our lives, and mothering is more than a little like fathering. What is of greater common interest than parenting? Moore has done a great job preserving the voice of each participant in her book. There is no fluff here, just the genuine personal stories that make for fascinating reading. Many of these stories I have read more than once, and I anticipate picking up this book again and again over time. I highly recommend Strong Stuff to thoughtful readers. If you can't stretch and grow a bit by reading these mothers' stories, you must be mighty big already!
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