Breeder: Real-Life Stories from the New Generation of Mothers by Ariel Gore

Breeder: Real-Life Stories from the New Generation of Mothers Reviews

• 
  Amy

  It isn't so much that I necessarily disliked the stories in the book, but rather that I didn't see how they are representative of a "new generation of mothers." I think I'm supposed to be part of the demographic at which this collection is aimed, but all it did was make me feel as though I wasn't exciting enough to be part of this "new generation" -- I was 23 when I had my son, but I did so in Chicago and not while or after backpacking through Europe or running away from home. And I've got punk sensibilities and alternative tastes, but this book still didn't sit right with me. Then again, no parenting book I've ever read has done so (with the notable exception of
  Anne Lamott's
  Operating Instructions). So maybe it's an issue I have the genre and not the book... but even so, I have to say this alternative take on the "new generation" wasn't much more relevant to my life as a parent than the old standards from the "old generation" of mothers.
• 
  Sarah

  I really loved this book. It had stories from so many different kinds of moms (from single pregnant teens to married couples struggling with infertility to lesbian moms adopting) and each essay provided a unique view point and theme. I liked that topics ranged from the serious like welfare, religion, and race to the more light hearted such as looking for pinworms. The book really shows that women who don't embody the socially approved ideal of the perfectly patient mother who makes cakes from scratch in her million dollar home are still exceptional moms because they really love and care about their kids, normativity, gender roles, and traditional practices be damned.
• 
  Jenn

  My sister-in-law sent this book to me when I was on bed rest and 8 months pregnant. It was perfect, because all I wanted to do was read about babies, and having babies, and babies that grow up - but I didn't want to read the same old thing. This book is a marvelous collection of essays from real mamas who are just a little left of center. It was great to read when I was worried that I'd lose my voice or lose myself when my baby was born. This book reminded me that life is change, and that it isn't necessarily bad if my self changes - as long as I don't lose myself.
• 
  Kristy

  Being pregnant is hard. If you're like me, you worry about everything--money, the food you're eating, environmental toxins, household toxins, eating cold cuts and soft cheese, cleaning the toilet with bleach, dying your hair,etc. etc. It's exhausting! But it's also important to remember that there are good, magical things about being pregnant and the reward in the end for all your worrying is worth it! Reading pregnancy and childbirth books all the time can be an unpleasant experience that does little more than remind you of all the things you should add to your long list of worries.
  I've been looking for a memoir or novel or anything about pregnancy that approaches the subject from a more personal perspective--something that lays out the fears and joys and experience of being pregnant without being didactic or technical. Breeder featured a collection of essays about women in various situations in their life who found themselves pregnant either by accident or on purpose and how they dealt with it. I really enjoyed it. It made me laugh and commiserate and it didn't portray pregnant women as out of control freaks who care only about their cravings and their Kegel exercises. I also appreciated the portrayal of men as sympathetic life partners and not beer swigging automatons or weak slaves to their wives' every whim.
  The book rang true and for that I am grateful.
• 
  Jenny

  I got this for a friend, but read it before giving. For every great motherhood perspective in this book, there were at least three ladies with entire new-agey stories/rambling trains of thought about the cosmic connection between pregnancy to stardust in the earthen goddess reverberations of still waters or whatever. It's just a personal preference of mine, but that kind of thing makes me gag. I also dislike it when people use the word "funky" to convey how counter-culture they are. Maybe instead of "Breeder," it could have been called "Women with Birthing Pools, Tattoos, and Imperfections Having Babies." Then they could have used the word "funky" less because the point's already been made.
  
  I tried to read it straight through, but there was some god-awful writing in there that made me think abstract painting thoughts. Even so, I only skipped one entire piece, and I'm still going to give it to my pregnant friend because there were some true diamonds in the rough. And I already bought it.
• 
  Nancy

  Here is a collection of stories written by contemporary women, mothers, raising babies now. The stories show the deep complications felt and understood by mothers, forever, then compounded by our current culture and how they're getting by. One story lists a woman's rites of passage inclusive of her first deflected rape, then the one she failed to deflect, on to a marriage of disillusion, then the baby. There are stories of mothers struggling between the love of child and the need to leave the baby in questionable hands so she can provide for her. The stories are deep and cause the reader to reflect on complicated words like motherhood, wife and provider.
• 
  Chelsea

  a collection of essays from gen x mothers. some were okay, some were really good, some were beautiful. wading through the ones that were okay was totally worth it for the brilliant ones. a great read - esp. for young moms and anyone interested in relating to, understand or connecting with the moms all around us. deals with issues of race, adoptions, same-sex marriage, single motherhood, the tension of self-preservation vs. self sacrifice, identity shifts, work/home balance... etc.... but overwhelmed by the similarities of all mothers regardless of their differences.
• 
  Marisa

  I feel mixed about this book. Some of the stories were excellent - unique, well-written, very moving. The last story about a woman's transition from being a 20-year-old single mother to being a 30-something married mother of 3 learning to surf was just gorgeous. Others felt forgettable, or they were great stories but told poorly. I also would have liked to read an essay from Ariel Gore herself, who I always find to be incredibly articulate, inspiring, and genuine.
  
  This was worth my time, but a bit disappointing.
• 
  Sara

  A collection of essays written by women about becoming mothers. A lot of humor here, and bizarre stories from "non-traditional" moms about issues surrounding marriage/partnership, pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. Strong bent towards drug-free childbirth, breastfeeding, attachment parenting, etc. - which is not my scene, but I still loved reading about motherhood from different perspectives. Bottom line: it's a fun book to read when you're a hormonal and exhausted new mom.
• 
  passeriform

  This anthology is, like so many anthologies, a mixed bag.
  
  It's great to hear a range of voices, including those of young parents, which are often left out of parenting conversations. (I mean, our culture loves to talk about 'teen moms,' but not so much with them.) This collection is intended as a counterpoint to mainstream 'mom' memoirs, and it works pretty well in that capacity.
  
  Some of the essays are just poorly-written and/or boring, though, and could have used more assertive editing. And some of the voices feel stilted and annoying to me--which probably is to say, I just flat-out disliked some of the narrators, who sounded like they thought they were extremely cool (perhaps a veneer over defensiveness?). On the other hand, some of the selections are beautiful, thoughtful, thought-provoking, funny, incisive.
  
  A friendly warning: over halfway through a fairly cheerful book, there's a stretch of maybe five extremely depressing and triggery essays, which I happened to read while trying to get to sleep through insomnia born of a family tragedy. Didn't work super-well. There are enough emotionally intense bits to make me suggest not reading this book during a vulnerable period, like say the postpartum period.
• 
  Allison Renner

  I was drawn to this book because I feel fairly “alternative” when it comes to motherhood. There were a lot of stories about home births, which I had, and I enjoyed reading those. But some essays seemed a little too try-hard. It might just be that I read most in one sitting, so it got to be a bit much.
• 
  Jennifer

  This is another compilation of essays about motherhood. What makes this book different from some others is that the mothers are "alternative" moms or moms that don't "fit" society's views of a typical mother. The mothers in this book are unwed mothers, lesbian mothers, adoptive mothers, single mothers. But no matter how different these mothers may be from your own upbringing or circumstances, I think all mothers can find a common ground in these essays. After all, all kids poop whether their mother has 100 tattoos or none. The editors of the book are the founders and editors of Hip Mama.
• 
  Jennifer

  Good, quick read. This is a collection of stories from a "new generation of mothers" (which I believe my age may exclude me from) but some of the stories really hit home with me having been a single mom for so many years. I would actually give it 3.5 stars if I could because the stories were really well written and interesting. There's definitely something in this book that every mother or mother to-be could relate to.
• 
  Molly

  I think it depends on why you are reading this: if you are compelled by varying stories of motherhood, this is a nice edition to any collection; if you are looking to read narratives that are deeply moving, there are some here (and some, I question the editors choices--a slimmer collection without the so-what pieces would have been so much stronger); if you are looking for phenomenal writing, I would, for the most part, look elsewhere.
• 
  Lisa

  A lot of good writing, but a little monotonous. It's funny, the mothers who wrote stories were supposed to generally be those who "break the mold" - but the stories I enjoyed most concerned more "traditional" mothers, especially the story of the Korean immigrant in Queens and the poor family in San Antonio. Not necessarily lesbians or hippies - just people trying to get by. Anyway, good book, would recommend it for a bus ride.
• 
  Holly Miller

  The new generation of mothers is women that previously would not have been approved of to be mothers. Teenagers, lesbians, strippers. Of course lots of people still wouldn't approve of them being mothers but there are still many more opportunities now. For the most part I found this book pretty boring. I think it is cool to read about the experiences of different kinds of mothers, the book just wasn't as interesting as I would have liked.
• 
  Nicole Rayne

  Appropriately, I think, I've finished reading this book on Mother's Day. As most multiple author books do, this one had its ups and downs. Some of the stories were well written and emotionally engaging. Some lacked appeal for me, but may have resonated with others. All in all I found it to be a good read that was nice to set down and pick back up several times. I recommend it to anyone looking for more perspectives on motherhood than just their own.
• 
  Lisa

  This just wasn't as great as I was hoping for. The writing was sometimes fine, other times left me wondering if a particular writer was just in there because she was in a writers' group with someone else. I saw neither a bridge holding these pieces together, nor an explanation of the diversity. It was just, blah, there.
• 
  sdw

  This book contains a collection of essays from a diversity of mammas. Each story is written in a different style from a different perspective. Many were highly enjoyable to read, like good literature. I liked the collective portrait they paint about the variety of mothering experiences and the delicate balance each finds among her various goals, and hopes, and experiences.
• 
  Sarah

  This book is full of hilarious and endearing stories, and it is definitely worth reading. Unfortunately, edgey books from the perspective of my generational peers usually just remind me of how thoroughly old school I am. These people are breeders in seriously ingenious and often difficult circumstances. There really is no one way to bring up a healthy, strong child. Or parent.
• 
  Imene

  It's a cute collection of essays about motherhood. A nice reminder that motherhood comes in different styles and that the most important thing is that we love our children.
  Although i have to disagree that it represents the new type of mothers. I wasn't able to connect to any profile depicted in the book
• 
  Elyssa

  This is what happens when Gen X-ers become parents. A great assortment of honest vignettes about the joys and challenges of being a parent. When you are in the trenches of parenting day after day, you can't get enough of this!
• 
  Molly

  Some of the stories were amusing, but most I couldn't relate to. Well, guess I'm not that hip. I don't have tattoos and a rock n' roll boyfriend. I didn't have a natural water birth with a lesbian midwife in attendance.
• 
  Kayte Terry

  not just for moms! i am a sucker for anthologies about women's lives and so far i am enjoying this. bonus for me: i later discovered that my used copy was autographed by one of the editors!
• 
  Kati

  When I was a new mom, hip mama.com was a life support mechanism. This is a great collection from one of the earliest of the online mom communities.
• 
  Natasha M

  Great read.
• 
  Rekha

  I bought this for a conservative friend of mine when it first came out and it freaked her out hard core, which was not my intention but it was kind of funny.