Mothers Who Think: Tales of Real-Life Parenthood

Exploring dimensions of motherhood that are far more provocative than discussions of weaning and potty training, these 40 essays strive to offer ""an articulate, heartfelt, and sometimes mystified acknowledgment that being a mother is a lifelong lesson in embracing contradiction,"" according to editors Peri and Moss. Featuring original pieces as well as some that previously appeared in the column by the same name in the online magazine Salon, the collection includes a remarkably wide variety of contributors, from biological to adoptive and lesbian moms and beyond. Anne Lamott dares to reveal that she sometimes takes out her frustations with motherhood on her son because she can, and because he will still love her. Beth Kephart finds inspiration in her disabled son's insistence on playing soccer and struggles to allow him to do it on his own. Susan Straight shares the frayed edges of her life as a single mother of three, while Celeste Fremon finds that former gang members make suitable male role models for her fatherless son. Karen Grigsby Bates combats her son's isolation in a mostly white school by enrolling him in a black social organization. Kim Van Meter recounts the long weekend when she and her partner chose not to adopt a troubled girl. While the essays are not all of the same caliber, even the most ordinary of them will resonate with the thinking mom. Agent, Ellen Levine. Author tour. (May)