Shattered: Modern Motherhood and the Illusion of Equality
Rebecca Asher
Shattered: Modern Motherhood and the Illusion of Equality
Rebecca Asher argues that a revolution in parenting is needed if we want to raise our children fairly and happily. Ranging from antenatal care and maternity leave, to work practices, relationship dynamics and beyond, Shattered exposes the inequalities perpetuated by the state, employers and the parenting industry and suggests imaginative ways forward to achieve more balanced and fulfilling lives.
4.0 out of 5 based on 4 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Classification |
Non-fiction |
| Genre |
Family & Lifestyle, Society, Politics & Philosophy |
| Format |
Paperback |
| Pages |
272 |
| RRP |
£12.99 |
| Date of Publication |
March 2011 |
| ISBN |
978-1846553974 |
| Publisher |
Harvill Secker |
| |
Rebecca Asher argues that a revolution in parenting is needed if we want to raise our children fairly and happily. Ranging from antenatal care and maternity leave, to work practices, relationship dynamics and beyond, Shattered exposes the inequalities perpetuated by the state, employers and the parenting industry and suggests imaginative ways forward to achieve more balanced and fulfilling lives.
Read an extract from the book | Daily Mail
Reviews
The Sunday Telegraph
Viv Groskop
“Could there possibly be anything more to say about how difficult it is to be a modern mother? Yes, it turns out. Within pages, I was utterly gripped. This is powerful stuff. Rebecca Asher’s take on the culture of parenting is radical, original and refreshingly spirited, a heartfelt call for change. She doesn’t moan or rant. Instead she gets (usefully) angry and — hurrah! — actually tries to suggest some answers. It would be hard to overstate how important this book is.”
03/04/2011
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The Economist
The Economist
“Excellent and readable … [Asher's solution is] a bit too prescriptive, and it sounds otherworldly at a time of deep spending cuts in Britain. But the thrust is right, if you accept the basic argument that it is the system frustrating women in their desire to go back to work, and that men can be bribed into taking up the domestic slack.”
07/04/2011
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The Guardian
Rachel Seiffert
“From understanding each other's perspectives to normalising shared parenting, and the priority of life beyond work, there is a great deal to be said for Asher's model, and it deserves to be discussed and debated widely … This book should be read by parents and policymakers alike.”
09/04/2011
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The Observer
Rachel Cusk
“The lesson here is not about motherhood so much perhaps as about womanhood … The modern woman arrives in motherhood like a shellshocked tourist without a guidebook in a foreign land, and Shattered rails against the brutality of the transfer, the injustice of the new conditions. It could be said that this is the real proof of inequality, this vulnerability to the status quo; and that motherhood is a lesson in responsibility, learned too late.”
03/04/2011
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