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Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change by Angela Garbes

Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change by Angela Garbes

SKU:9780062937360

  • Binding: Hardcover, 256 pages
  • Representation: Filipino
  • Genre(s):
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From the acclaimed author of Like a Mother comes a reflection on the state of caregiving in America, and an exploration of mothering as a means of social change.

The Covid-19 pandemic shed fresh light on a long-overlooked truth: mothering is among the only essential work humans do. In response to the increasing weight placed on mothers and caregiversā€”and the lack of a social safety net to support themā€”writer Angela Garbes found herself pondering a vitalĀ question: How, under our current circumstances thatĀ leaveĀ us lonely, exhausted, and financially strained, might we demand more from American family life? In Essential Labor, Garbes explores assumptions about care, work, and deservedness, offering a deeply personal and rigorously reported look at what mothering is, and can be. A first-generation Filipino-American, Garbes shares the perspective of her family's complicated relationship to care work, placingĀ mothering in a global contextā€”the invisible economic engine that has been historically demanded of women of color. Garbes contends that while the labor of raising children is devalued in America, the act of mothering offers the radical potential to create a more equitable society.Ā In Essential Labor, Garbes reframes the physically and mentally draining work of meetingĀ a child's bodily and emotional needsĀ as opportunities to find meaning, to nurture a deeperĀ sense of self, pleasure, and belonging.

This is highly skilled labor, work that impacts society at its most foundational level. Part galvanizing manifesto, part poignant narrative, Essential Labor is a beautifully rendered reflection on care that reminds us of the irrefutable power and beauty of mothering.

Additional Book Details

Pages: 256

Binding: Hardcover

Publisher: Harper Wave

Pub Date:

Language: en

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