Extraordinary Mothers And Daughters

Celebrate the special bonds between mothers and daughters through the stories of iconic families. Minnie Riperton and Maya Rudolph. Judy Garland and Liza Minelli. Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, and Billie Lourd. These dynasties of powerful women not only inspire us as individuals, but also embody the complex and special connections between generations. Mothers often imagine their daughters will follow in their footsteps. But if your mom is a beloved star of stage or screen, how do you live up to her spectacular example? And when your daughters are major icons in music or sports, how do you cultivate your own dreams? The women in this book have lived exceptional lives, but their joys and struggles as families ring true for all of us. Whether supporting each other through rough patches, pursuing greatness hand in hand, or breaking free to forge their own destinies, these women show us the manifold ways a mom-daughter relationship can bloom. This keepsake volume features collaged portraits of the iconic women by contemporary artist Natasha Cunningham. It will be a touchstone for anyone navigating motherhood or daughterhood. THE PERFECT GIFT BETWEEN MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS: From Mother's Day to birthdays, from weddings to the holidays, or for any occasion when you want to remind your mother or your daughter how truly extraordinary she is, this book makes the perfect gift. A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON ICONIC WOMEN: Rock stars, Hollywood idols, and sporting legends: The women featured in this book are unparalleled in their fields. Not only are they glamorous; they are also creating positive change in the world, whether protecting endangered wildlife or breaking the glass ceiling. Fans will love seeing a more personal side of these icons and learning how their strong mother-daughter bonds helped catapult them to such great heights. INSPIRING STORIES: These stories of women following their passions, overcoming the odds, and supporting each other are sure to inspire. BEAUTIFUL KEEPSAKE: Throughout the book, stunning collage portraits by contemporary artist Natasha Cunningham bring each family's story alive. This is a truly special book to cherish and pass down through the generations. Perfect for: • Mother-daughter pairs • New and expecting mothers • Brides to be • Women with big dreams • Recent grads • Artists and creatives

The women who grew up earlier this century expected to be wives and mothers – gardeners, cooks, churchgoers, voluntary workers, housekeepers. They brought up a generation of women, now in their fifties, who became lawyers, secretaries, teachers, businesswomen, factory workers – as well as mothers. Between these generations lies extraordinary social change. The women in Mothers and Daughters talk of the different worlds they inhabit - the mothers on the one hand, the daughters on the other. At times, the two can never meet, and the stories of these women include great pain. Others tell of wonderful meetings across difference or reconciliation after times of difficulty. For some mothers and daughters, the relationship has always been close; others recognise that real intimacy has eluded them. Twenty-six women tell their stories – most of them as mother–daughter pairs. Anonymity allows them to speak openly of both joy and distress. These interviews, conducted by Alison Gray, have rare honesty, allowing the reader insight into a connection that is intense and central for all generations, but remarkably so for these two groups of mothers and daughters.

We were all full of expectation as we waited patiently at Melbourne's international airport. I hadn't slept properly for weeks. All of us had been waiting for this moment for months. Our fourth child was soon to arrive ...This is the story of 18-year-old Kartya Wunderle, one of 64 babies flown out of Taiwan in the early 80s. Babies stolen from their mothers or sold by their families and adopted out to unsuspecting overseas parents. At 15, Kartya began to use heroin in an attempt to take away the pain of not knowing who she was and where she came from. Her distraught parents watched their beautiful daughter slowly slip away from them, spiralling towards a tragic and almost inevitable conclusion. Out of desperation and fired by an unconditional love for her daughter, Nola Wunderle resolved to find Kartya's birth mother and change the ending to Kartya's story. An amazing search for one woman in a country of 22 million began. The result was nothing short of miraculous, and made Kartya a national hero in her homeland. Lost Daughter is a moving testament to the power of love and the strength of the human spirit, one that will humble and inspire all who read it.

Becoming My Mother’s Daughter: A Story of Survival and Renewal tells the story of three generations of a Jewish Hungarian family whose fate has been inextricably bound up with the turbulent history of Europe, from the First World War through the Holocaust and the communist takeover after World War II, to the family’s dramatic escape and emmigration to Canada. The emotional centre and narrative voice of the story belong to Eva, an artist, dreamer, and writer trying to work through her complex and deep relationship with her mother, whose portrait she cannot paint until she completes her journey through memory. The core of the book is Eva’s riveting recollection of the last months of World War II in Budapest, seen through a child’s eyes, and is reminiscent in its power of scenes in Joy Kogawa’s Obasan. Exploring the bond between generations of mothers and daughters, the book illustrates the struggle between the need for independence and the search for continuity, the significant impact of childhood on adult life, the reshaping of personality in immigration, the importance of dreams in making us face reality, and the redemptive power of memory. Illustrations by the author throughout the book, some in colour, enhance the story.

Written by best-selling author Miriam Cohen, A Daughter of Two Mothers is the incredible, true account of a handicapped widow's forced separation from her infant daughter, the years of longing and searching, the legal battle, and the subsequent destruction brought by the Nazis. Open this book and you will step into the world of a generation gone, of pre- and post-war Hungarian Jewry, as young Leichu moves between two communities and their divergent lifestyles. This is a gripping story of separation and reunion, of pure faith and acceptance of G-d's will, and of triumph over despair.

Personal memories of the sort her Chatelaine readers adored — a remarkable life story seen through the window of her relationship with her mother. Every woman’s relationship with her mother is special. Yet everyone will recognize some parts of another woman’s story, especially if it is told as honestly and as sensitively as Rona Maynard tells it here. As a little girl, Maynard soon came to see that her family was not an ordinary one. Her father, Max, was an artist and an alcoholic. Her mother was Fredelle Maynard, a brilliant academic who could not get a teaching job because she was a woman. Instead she became a writer — the author of Raisins and Almonds — and, above all, a driving, loving, ambitious, overpowering mother. In her shadow (and that of younger sister Joyce, who went off at eighteen to live with J.D. Salinger) Rona took time to blossom as a writer and editor in Toronto. This book takes us through her career, step by step, including the miseries of being accused by her son’s teachers — and her own mother — of being a bad mother, overly concerned with her own career. Rona’s strong, direct style will ring true for every working woman. Through the magic of her writing, she gives a clear-eyed and affectionate account of her relationship with a demanding, loving mother. I said to my father, "You don’t live here any more. This is Mother’s house, not yours. It’s time for you to go." My father cursed me. He shook his fist. Then he left and never came back. —From My Mother’s Daughter

"A Daughter of Many Mothers" is the story of Rena Quint, a Holocaust survivor who continues to give testimony in Israel, the United States, and South Africa. This book explores not only her personal Holocaust experience, but addresses the social and psychological effects on many of the remaining survivors of those horrific years.

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