The Paradox of Natural Mothering

Rating:
Summary: Really good book
Review: I am a new mother and have spent a lot of time searching the web for parenting books. I came by this book by chance and ordered it immediately. Although I don't agree with everything the author says, I think she does a really good job of presenting the mothers who she talked to in a really fair way, and the book kept me interested from start to finish. I learned a lot about mothering, and about how the choices I make as a mother affect the rest of the world. It was definitely one of the best books that I've found on parenting, and I've even passed it on to my husband to read!

Rating:
Summary: Natural Mothering: Subject for Men too!
Review: I found this book exceptionally interesting even though I will never be a mother myself because I am a man. Bobel takes the reader into the lives of five women in particular and expresses clearly the benefits and differences in the way mothering has changed and how it is being preserved. I think there is a lot in this book for men and women alike.

Rating:
Summary: Where's the Real Paradox?
Review: I was disappointed in this book. First, it reads like the dissertation it was (in a "first we covered blah blah, now we will explore blah blah" style) with some band-aid editing to make it more accessible to the non-academic reader. The interviews of courageous women (who buck mainstream parenting, schools, shopping malls and other sacred American institutions)are worth the price of the book, but once Bobel moves from the descriptive to the persuasive, I'm not impressed. She asserts that "natural mom" suffer from a delusion of self-determinism, that their lifestyle choices are made on a reliance on "feeling" and on Nature (which has replaced the Patriarchy as a controlling power in these women's lives), yet Bobel conveniently overlooks the very critical *thinking* decisions made by these women regarding their medical care, diet, and anti-consumerism. The book is loaded with annotations, references, and research, but makes no mention of neurobiology and its recent influence on feminist discussions. She studies her "informants" as if they were a quaint cult of retro-hippies and questions what they are doing for feminism by trying to rear children in such an alternative way. Also, Bobel observes that men seem to be on the periphery of natural parenting, but she doesn't interview any men, or compare them to mainstream male parents (who, she says, get to bottle-feed their infants--goody for them, say I, as my "alternative natural" spouse rocks our infant so I can write this review online!) A provacative book, nonetheless--it kept my spouse and I up at night discussing the multifarious issues it raises. But the real paradox of this book is while it claims to objectively reveal a subculture and raise some important women's issues, it mostly reveals the author's biases, literary, feminist, and political.

Rating:
Summary: Where's the Real Paradox?
Review: I was disappointed in this book. First, it reads like the dissertation it was (in a "first we covered blah blah, now we will explore blah blah" style) with some band-aid editing to make it more accessible to the non-academic reader. The interviews of courageous women (who buck mainstream parenting, schools, shopping malls and other sacred American institutions)are worth the price of the book, but once Bobel moves from the descriptive to the persuasive, I'm not impressed. She asserts that "natural mom" suffer from a delusion of self-determinism, that their lifestyle choices are made on a reliance on "feeling" and on Nature (which has replaced the Patriarchy as a controlling power in these women's lives), yet Bobel conveniently overlooks the very critical *thinking* decisions made by these women regarding their medical care, diet, and anti-consumerism. The book is loaded with annotations, references, and research, but makes no mention of neurobiology and its recent influence on feminist discussions. She studies her "informants" as if they were a quaint cult of retro-hippies and questions what they are doing for feminism by trying to rear children in such an alternative way. Also, Bobel observes that men seem to be on the periphery of natural parenting, but she doesn't interview any men, or compare them to mainstream male parents (who, she says, get to bottle-feed their infants--goody for them, say I, as my "alternative natural" spouse rocks our infant so I can write this review online!) A provacative book, nonetheless--it kept my spouse and I up at night discussing the multifarious issues it raises. But the real paradox of this book is while it claims to objectively reveal a subculture and raise some important women's issues, it mostly reveals the author's biases, literary, feminist, and political.

Rating:
Summary: Where's the Real Paradox?
Review: I was disappointed in this book. First, it reads like the dissertation it was (in a "first we covered blah blah, now we will explore blah blah" style) with some band-aid editing to make it more accessible to the non-academic reader. The interviews of courageous women (who buck mainstream parenting, schools, shopping malls and other sacred American institutions)are worth the price of the book, but once Bobel moves from the descriptive to the persuasive, I'm not impressed. She asserts that "natural mom" suffer from a delusion of self-determinism, that their lifestyle choices are made on a reliance on "feeling" and on Nature (which has replaced the Patriarchy as a controlling power in these women's lives), yet Bobel conveniently overlooks the very critical *thinking* decisions made by these women regarding their medical care, diet, and anti-consumerism. The book is loaded with annotations, references, and research, but makes no mention of neurobiology and its recent influence on feminist discussions. She studies her "informants" as if they were a quaint cult of retro-hippies and questions what they are doing for feminism by trying to rear children in such an alternative way. Also, Bobel observes that men seem to be on the periphery of natural parenting, but she doesn't interview any men, or compare them to mainstream male parents (who, she says, get to bottle-feed their infants--goody for them, say I, as my "alternative natural" spouse rocks our infant so I can write this review online!) A provacative book, nonetheless--it kept my spouse and I up at night discussing the multifarious issues it raises. But the real paradox of this book is while it claims to objectively reveal a subculture and raise some important women's issues, it mostly reveals the author's biases, literary, feminist, and political.

Rating:
Summary: Complex view of mothering
Review: I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the way mothers shape, resist and reflect our society. It takes a complex look at a group of mothers whom Bobel identifies as 'natural mothers' and how their style of mothering both resists and submits to 'conventional' parenting and societal norms. Well written and extremely interesting, The Paradox of Natural Mothering also gives the reader an introduction to many 'alternative' ways of mothering, including family bed, extended breast feeding and home schooling. An excellent book!

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: While away with my husband on our first no-child weekend, I devoured this book on the beach. While I found the title confusing, the topics, interviews and general propositions were fascinating and engaging. Also, as a new Mom who struggles with the perennial balance between work, motherhood, and precious and rare time for self and marriage, I found so much of this book to be supportive. Moms are always grappling with the 'right thing to do' and this book carried me a long way both emotionally and intellectually.

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: While away with my husband on our first no-child weekend, I devoured this book on the beach. While I found the title confusing, the topics, interviews and general propositions were fascinating and engaging. Also, as a new Mom who struggles with the perennial balance between work, motherhood, and precious and rare time for self and marriage, I found so much of this book to be supportive. Moms are always grappling with the 'right thing to do' and this book carried me a long way both emotionally and intellectually.