Overview
The classic feminist text on the journey into motherhood
This diary of acclaimed psychologist and radical feminist Phyllis Chesler was a pioneering work when it was first published in 1979, and it still resonates today. It is a look into the second wave of feminism in the 1970s and the changing attitudes towards motherhood and pregnancy at the time.
Reviews
"Phyllis Chesler's myth-shattering insights could literally save the sanity of many women, whether we are mothers or not, and involve many men in a critical human experience." —Gloria Steinem
"Phyllis Chesler has written a brave book about one woman's journey into motherhood. . . . A straightforward, unsentimental, yet poetic account of birth as a rite of passage." —
Erica Jong
"A deeply felt, passionate, personal, and very moving book." —Alan Alda
"Filled with the love of life, of adventure, of new horizons. Ms. Chesler gives us the gift of her journey." —Judy Collins
"A book no man could have written—but which every man must read." —Gerold Frank
"A tender, personal, and 'in the round' account of . . . this most important task of any culture: mothering." —Marilyn French
"A pioneering daily recording of an unusual birth into motherhood. . . . Another first for Phyllis Chesler." —Tillie Olsen
"A precious object . . . Makes childbearing and motherhood significant—and beautiful—as well as truly hard and anguished."
—Helen Yglesias
Author Biography
Phyllis Chesler, author of eighteen books and thousands of articles and speeches, is also an emerita professor of psychology and women's studies at City University of New York, a psychotherapist, and an expert courtroom witness. She is cofounder of the Association for Women in Psychology and the National Women's Health Network, a charter member of the Women's Forum and the Veteran Feminists of America, and a founder and board member of the International Committee for the Women of the Wall. She lives in Manhattan.