I had/am having a slightly difficult time processing this book. Luckily it is short, very short - like you could read it in two hours short. Here's my thought process as I finish this book. It brings up the age old feminist tale of "don't make me stay in the kitchen, I want a career dammit!" Problem is, what about those woman, much like myself, who chose a career 'in the kitchen' so to speak. This story that Ruth Reichl and her mother tell us is one that insists you are far more than your looks, your family's social position, your marriage, etc. I appreciate this outlook - it's one my own mother and grandmother shared. So the struggle comes when I decide, as a "modern" young feminist, to get married have children and become a homemaker. It throws the slap in my face that I rejected all the hard work of 'Mim', Ruth, and my grandmother. This book is every bit the propaganda we sell young girls - marriage will make you stupid and soft - reject the home and march into the workforce! But why do we insist that girls must do this? It's just as damaging as insisting they marry. I say, give us a CHOICE.This book and it's themes are important to consider - right along with The Happy Homemakers Bible. Given the options, men and women in our society thankfully don't necessarily have to wander down the prescribed path. It's fine if girls want a career and reject housekeeping/child rearing. But it is also okay if they choose to embrace it. A very slim nonfiction book that will appeal more to readers who have already read Tender At the Bone and Reichl's other books, since it kind of continues and rounds out the author's portrayal and understanding of her mother. It is also rather sociological since it pokes at the differences between successive generations and roles of American women, especially as related to the workplace. Reichl's mother had what it is eventually diagnosed as bipolar disease. Any woman reading it will probably find some relevance to their own relationship with their mother. The book also goes to show you that the unlived lives and dreams of our parents greatly affect us.
