althaea's Full Review: Ariel Gore - The Mother Trip: Hip Mama's Guide to ...
This epinion has been edited an improved. Please read this, so as to not rate blindly.
This book defies all boundaries.
I walked into my local bookstore, and on the display table was this book with a blue spiral cover and a large rubber duckie coming at me. It read The Mother Trip Hip Mama's Guide to Staying Sane in the Chaos of Motherhood. How perfect. As the mother of a 20 month old little girl who often finds herself exhausted and confused, I knew I needed to read it.
Needless to say, I was not disappointed. From the very beginning it was easy to read. With chapters like Learning to be Unacceptable, Don't Adjust, and Sill More Questions than Answers, I knew I had the book for me. The chapters provided relief that I was not the only one who got frustrated and wanted to cry sometimes. Encouraging a break, Ariel talks about not feeling guilty about taking care of yourself. In fact, in order to be a healthy, sane mother, breaks are needed. We are no good to our children if we are fried all the time. She encourages you and reminds you to have fun.
The chapters are short, full of a lot of energy, and vibrant. It was simple to read a couple of chapters,put the book down, think about it, and read some more. Being a mother, I appreciate this as I can not read for hours on end. This also allowed for creative stimulation as she makes you believe that you can do anything.
The book offers encouragement to those who do not feel they fit into the conventional mold of motherhood. It gives those who feel they do, something to think about. (are there any of you out there?) It
allows and encourages mothers to take it easy, this is life and all the
things we have been force fed our whole lives can go down the toilet. This is not a contest. She quotes ani difranco and Utah Phillips along with Margaret Mead. She offers her own experience without making you feel that her experience is the "right way." The book, although I don't know if this was her intention, has a real feel of individuality.
Ariel Gore is the founder and editor if HipMama magazine and HipMama.com. Her first book was entitled the HipMama Survival guide. You can read my review of the Survival guide at
Ariel Gore is an amazing story teller. Her endings always made me pause to think, giggle, laugh, and cry with relief. She is an outspoken woman who has the ability to write beautifully and clearly. She is telling the story for a lot of mothers. As a matter of fact, her new project is a collection of stories from the mothers who read hipMama and visit the website. She has offered another outlet for Mothers (and Fathers) to be creative. She is really doing her part as a parent, as a feminist, and as a human.
This book does not just speak to the wild child, or the conventional.
It does not just speak to upper-middle class America or those in the grips of poverty. This book reaches all of us who are mothers,those who have given birth to anything, those who are experiencing any life change. There is something for everyone in this book. Fathers are not excluded.
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