A Most Attentive Mother

Having lost her mother at a young age, Elizabeth Bennet desires the presence of a mother in her life. When a young widow arrives in the neighborhood, Elizabeth knows she has found a woman well suited to joining her family, recommending her to her father as a desirable wife. Fortunately for Elizabeth, his father needs little encouragement, and soon after proposes. Fitzwilliam Darcy comes to Hertfordshire with his friend Charles Bingley, he anticipates meeting the Bennets, for their new mother is none other than his aunt, Lady Catherine Bennet. The introduction goes poorly, however, as Darcy unwittingly insults her second stepdaughter, angering her ladyship and creating a question of his character in Elizabeth’s mind. Darcy, seeing the worth of the Bennet family, comes to an appreciation for them, including Miss Elizabeth, to whom he makes amends. As Elizabeth comes to know Mr. Darcy better, she gains insight into his character, and soon each begin to understand that the other will be a perfect partner in life. In this, they have Lady Catherine’s blessing, for the woman loves her new daughters very much. Yet, within ranks of Lady Catherine’s extended family, there are members who do not appreciate her new connections, who have other notions as to their family’s future. Yet Lady Catherine is a woman of fortitude, a woman attentive to all matters within her sphere of influence, and no one will stand in the way of her new daughter’s happiness.

Syler explains how she learned to chuck perfection for practicality, offering sage advice and tips on navigating different obstacles while offering real wisdom about mothering that is tempered with humor and warmth.

In an era of mommy blogs, Pinterest, and Facebook, The Good Mother Myth dismantles the social media–fed notion of what it means to be a “good mother.” This collection of essays takes a realistic look at motherhood and provides a platform for real voices and raw stories, each adding to the narrative of motherhood we don’t tend to see in the headlines or on the news. From tales of mind-bending, panic-inducing overwhelm to a reflection on using weed instead of wine to deal with the terrible twos, the honesty of the essays creates a community of mothers who refuse to feel like they’re in competition with others, or with the notion of the ideal mom—they’re just trying to find a way to make it work. With a foreword by Christy Turlington Burns and a contributor list that includes Jessica Valenti, Sharon Lerner, Soraya Chemaly, Amber Dusick, and many more, this remarkable collection seeks to debunk the myth and offer honest perspectives on what it means to be a mother.

"Taut, absorbing and psychologically astute, in A Good Enough Mother Bev Thomas combines all the tension of a thriller with the emotional resonance of a powerful family drama." --Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train "Perfect for fans of The Silent Patient." --Booklist A heart-stopping mother's story of love and loss, and a riveting drama that lets us inside the secret world of therapist and patient. Ruth Hartland is the director of a trauma therapy unit in London. A psychotherapist with twenty years of experience, she is highly respected in her field. But her family life tells another story: her marriage has fractured and her grown daughter, Caroline, has moved far away to Australia. Most devastatingly, Caroline's twin brother, Tom, has disappeared and has had no contact with anyone for two years. Ruth's fragile son has always been sensitive and anxious, the opposite of his cheerful and resilient sister. She cannot give up hope of finding him, but feels she is living a kind of half-life, waiting for him to return. Then Ruth is assigned a new patient, a young man who bears a striking resemblance to Tom. Ruth is determined to help Dan, but her own complicated feelings and family history cloud her judgement--and professional boundaries, once inviolable, are transgressed. When events spiral out of control, Ruth must confront the unthinkable and reckon with those who truly matter in her life. Deeply insightful, with riveting twists and turns, A Good Enough Mother is a brilliant and heartfelt exploration of the responsibilities and limitations of motherhood.

Heather Chauvin-now a TEDx speaker, host of the Mom Is In Control podcast and personal development coach-takes you through her journey with honesty, humor, and strength.

“The courtroom scenes are sharp and suspenseful, the twists in the plot are unexpected, and the tension ratchets up until we are truly eager to find out what happens.” -New York Times Book Review A Library Journal Best Debut Novel of Spring and Summer 2021 A gripping debut thriller about two young mothers, one shocking murder and a court case that puts them both on trial. When a soldier is found stabbed through the heart at a US Army base, there is no doubt that his wife, Luz, is to blame. But was it an act of self-defense? An attempt to save her infant daughter? Or the cold-blooded murder of an innocent man? Ambitious public defender Abby is determined to win at all costs. As a new mother herself, she wants to keep Luz out of prison and with her daughter. But when the surprises stack up and shocking new evidence emerges, Abby realizes the task proves far more difficult than she suspected and will require a terrible sacrifice. As the trial hurtles toward an outcome no one expects, Abby, Luz and a captivated jury are forced to answer the question that will decide everything—what does it mean to be a good mother? “Lara Bazelon combines a riveting courtroom thriller with a nuanced and thought-provoking examination of gender, race, and justice. Helmed by an intelligent, complex, and flawed protagonist, A Good Mother is a beautifully written debut that kept me turning the pages late into the night.” —Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek "Sexy, shrewd, and wholly contemporary, A Good Mother takes pitch-perfect characters, a page-whipping plot, and themes about marriage, lust, betrayal, and the juggling of new motherhood plus a hard-driving career and mixes it all into a deeply perceptive legal thriller that made me drop everything else and just READ." —Cathi Hanauer, New York Times bestselling author of Gone, The Bitch in the House and The Bitch Is Back

A collection of feminist essays steeped in “Solnit’s unapologetically observant and truth-speaking voice on toxic, violent masculinity” (The Los Angeles Review). In a timely and incisive follow-up to her national bestseller Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit offers sharp commentary on women who refuse to be silenced, misogynistic violence, the fragile masculinity of the literary canon, the gender binary, the recent history of rape jokes, and much more. In characteristic style, “Solnit draw[s] anecdotes of female indignity or male aggression from history, social media, literature, popular culture, and the news . . . The main essay in the book is about the various ways that women are silenced, and Solnit focuses upon the power of storytelling—the way that who gets to speak, and about what, shapes how a society understands itself and what it expects from its members. The Mother of All Questions poses the thesis that telling women’s stories to the world will change the way that the world treats women, and it sets out to tell as many of those stories as possible” (The New Yorker). “There’s a new feminist revolution—open to people of all genders—brewing right now and Rebecca Solnit is one of its most powerful, not to mention beguiling, voices.”—Barbara Ehrenreich, New York Times–bestselling author of Natural Causes “Short, incisive essays that pack a powerful punch.” —Publishers Weekly “A keen and timely commentary on gender and feminism. Solnit’s voice is calm, clear, and unapologetic; each essay balances a warm wit with confident, thoughtful analysis, resulting in a collection that is as enjoyable and accessible as it is incisive.” —Booklist