Free Downloads Choosing Single Motherhood: The Thinking Woman's Guide
The comprehensive guide for single women interested in proactively becoming and being a mother—includes the essential tools needed to decide whether to take this step, information on how best to follow through, and insight about answering the child’s questions and needs over time.Choosing Single Motherhood, written by a longtime journalist and Choice Mother (a woman who chooses to conceive or adopt without a life partner), will become the indispensable tool for women looking for both support and insight. Based on extensive up-to-date research, advice from child experts and family therapists, as well as interviews with more than one hundred single women, this book explores• common questions and concerns of women facing this decision, including: Can I afford to do this? Should I wait longer to see if life turns a new corner? How do Choice Mothers handle the stress of solo parenting?• what the research says about growing up in a single-parent household • how to answer a child’s “daddy” questions • the facts about adoption, anonymous donor insemination, and finding a known donor • how the children of pioneering Choice Mothers feel about their livesWritten in a lively style that never sugarcoats or sweeps problems under the rug, Choosing Single Motherhood covers the topic clearly, concisely, and with a great deal of heart.
Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Mariner Books (May 20, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0618833323
ISBN-13: 978-0618833320
Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 5.8 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #55,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #7 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Parenting > Single Parents #153 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Family Relationships > Motherhood #468 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Women's Studies
The author of this extensively researched book is the mother of two children conceived by known donor insemination. The first part of the book explores issues relevant to women who are making the decision about whether to pursue single motherhood. This includes assessing motivation, financial implications, grieving the childhood dream of raising children within a loving realtionship, community reactions and the impact on a child of growing up without a father.The next section covers chssoing the method, including adoption and donor insemination. The section entitled day to day parenting includes coping with stress, the importance of a support system, a discussion on talking with children and others about their conception, and confronting identity issues. It is helpful that some accounts of difficult experiences are included, including a moving account from a mother of two children with special needs. There is information about policies around the world, including the removal of donor anonymity in the UK.Of great interest to me (as the mother of a seven year old), was the chapter which includes interviews with young adults and teenagers raised by Choice Moms, as the author refers to them. This was a small sample consisting only of those who were willing to share their thoughts, but most of them were well adjusted and reported healthy and nurturing relationships with their mothers. There is an extensive list of website addresses and other resources. This book is a useful addition to the literature available for single women considering parenthood, as well as those who already have children.
This book is a MUST for any woman considering single motherhood by choice. In today's world, many women are choosing to have a child without having a life partner. There are many issues to consider and the author covers them all. The book discusses the logistical aspects which include making the choice, legal issues, and choosing the method to become pregnant or adopt. The book also covers the emotional and delicate issues: Can I handle being a single mother? How will my family and friends react? How will I tell my child about their conception? Will my child be accepted? The book is informative, funny, honest and well-researched. It's a book to read and to keep as a reference for any woman choosing to be a "choice mom."
Speaking as someone who has already accomplished choice motherhood, the best part of this book is the expert advice addressing what the tough issues are and ways to solve them.Raising a boy as a single mother isn't easy. There are obvious and (as I learned from the book) not so obvious reasons why children need both same- and opposite-sex role models. I really had never considered that rough-housing could be a teaching mechanism rather than just a testosterone-laden way of bonding! Mikki has included research from many different child experts and provides a concise synopsis of ways to lessen the effects of the tough realities that we can't avoid.This book is a must-read and has a place of honor on my reference shelf.
This book, in my opinion, is a good reference for every woman considering single motherhood. Mikki Morrissette, makes it a point to bring examples from real life when writing about issues such as becoming pregnant by a donor sperm or adopting a child.I found the book helpful in not only as a guide for all options of single motherhood but also as a thought tool to the many issues that single motherhood's entails.
I received this book on Friday and was done reading it by the following Monday. It was well written and ridiculously helpful. I have chosen to take the route of being a single mother, and this is the first book I've read that looks at all aspects (including being a single lesbian mother) as well as providing suggestions of other books to read (which I have ordered recently as well.) I highly recommend this book for any womyn that is debating the question of Single Motherhood. The book is full of insightful questions that really made me stop and think about whether I was truly ready for this next step. It is a must read!
I have started to read this book on at least four occasions. I force myself to read it for a few nights and a row and then I end up setting it aside. I've owned the book for a year and a half and am not even to the half way point. I find the author tries to incorporate many experts opinions but it is in a scattered sort of fashion. The author does not have a very succinct fashion of writing. A chapter that's five pages contains information that could have been contained on two pages. Overall a very dry read.
This book discusses so many aspects of single motherhood that a potential mother might worry about. The advice is sound and both sides of each complex issue are presented fairly. It doesn't lead you to a specific answer, but does provide enough information to allow you to add to whatever information you already have to make a decision. I highly recommend this and am happy I bought it, rather than checked it out at a library. It will be a good manual during my journey.The one downside is I would have liked to have seen more specifics when it comes to telling people, including the child, about the father. Most of the books I've read - or the items online - give general advice. But what I think a lot of us want to know is, "What actual and specific words did you use?" (whether the words worked or not).But I highly recommend this book.
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