Publication date:

12 September 2013

Length of book:

202 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

236x158mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780739183007

Mothers of Adult Children elucidates what happens when children come of age and leave home, creating new lives in the realms of work and relationships. Mothers from around the world learn that this is the point in which their relationships with their children must drastically change. Mothers often come to terms with the changes by accepting differences and providing moral and emotional support when needed. However, the evolutionary nature of mothers’ roles throughout the course of their children’s lives is not only determined by the mother-child dynamic. The mothering of adult children is a transformative role, and the stories presented here show that the dynamics between mother and child are also influenced by cultural events. Accidents, disasters, war, and other hardships also intervene in these stories of multicultural motherhood. This book reveals the problems mothers of adult children face and celebrates the outstanding accomplishments of those who mother through hardship.

Marguerite Guzmán Bouvard’s collection of essays provides a superb description of mothers of adult children. She includes essays by women from many cultures and many different socioeconomic situations that give the reader a panoramic view of the important work of mothers in the years following childhood. It is a significant addition to the literature on mothering.