Mothers, Mothering and Motherhood across Cultural Differences, the first-ever Reader on the subject matter, examines the meaning and practice of mothering/ motherhood from a multitude of maternal perspectives. The Reader includes 22 chapters on the following maternal identities: Aboriginal, Adoptive, At-Home, Birth, Black, Disabled, East-Asian, Feminist, Immigrant/Refuge, Latina/Chicana, Poor/Low Income, Migrant, Non-Residential, Older, Queer, Rural, Single, South-Asian, Stepmothers, Working, Young Mothers, and Mothers of Adult Children. Each chapter provides background and context, examines the challenges and possibilities of mothering/ motherhood for each group of mothers and considers directions for future research. The first anthology to provide a comprehensive examination of mothers/ mothering/ motherhood across diverse cultural locations and subject positions, the book is essential reading for maternal scholars and activists and serves as an ideal course text for a wide range of courses in Motherhood Studies.

Andrea O’Reilly, PhD, is Professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at York University and is founder and director of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement, founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Motherhood Initiative and founder and editor of Demeter Press, the first feminist press on motherhood. She is editor and author of 19 books on motherhood including most recently 21st Century Motherhood: Experience, Identity, Policy, Agency (2010); The 21st Century Motherhood Movement: Mothers Speak Out On Why We Need to Change The World and How To Do It (2011); Academic Motherhood in a Post Second Wave Context: Challenges, Strategies, Possibilities (2012); and What do Mothers Need?: Motherhood Activists and Scholars Speak out Maternal Empowerment for the 21st Century (2012). She is editor of the first encyclopedia on Motherhood (2010). In 2010 she was the recipient of the CAUT Sarah Shorten Award for outstanding achievements in the promotion of the advancement of women in Canadian universities and colleges. She is twice the recipient (1998, 2009) of York University’s “Professor of the Year Award” for teaching excellence. She is the proud mama of three fabulous and feminist adult children.

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