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The Good Mother Myth

with author Nancy Reddy

Nancy Reddy discuss her book, The Good Mother Myth: Unlearning Our Bad Ideas About How to Be a Good Mom, a thought-provoking debunking of the bad ideas that have defined what it means to be a mom.

*PLEASE NOTE: This is a virtual program that will take place via Zoom. Registrants will receive a link to access the Zoom Webinar via email.*  

Poet and Essayist Nancy Reddy joins us to discuss her book, The Good Mother Myth: Unlearning Our Bad Ideas About How to Be a Good Mom, a timely and thought-provoking debunking of the bad ideas that have for too long defined what it means to be a "good" mom. This program is for all of the caregivers who struggle to be the best they can be with societal pressures constantly trying to influence our good instincts. We hope you can join us for this important discussion.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

Presented in partnership with the Ashland Public Library.

About the book:

When Nancy Reddy had her first child, she found herself suddenly confronted with the ideal of a perfect mother—a woman who was constantly available, endlessly patient, and immediately invested in her child to the exclusion of all else. Reddy had been raised by a single working mother, considered herself a feminist, and was well on her way to a PhD. Why did doing motherhood "right" feel so wrong?

For answers, Reddy turned to the mid-20th century social scientists and psychologists whose work still forms the basis of so much of what we believe about parenting. It seems ludicrous to imagine modern moms taking advice from midcentury researchers. Yet, their bad ideas about so-called “good” motherhood have seeped so pervasively into our cultural norms. In The Good Mother Myth, Reddy debunks the flawed lab studies, sloppy research, and straightforward misogyny of researchers from Harry Harlow, who claimed to have discovered love by observing monkeys in his lab, to the famous Dr. Spock, whose bestselling parenting guide included just one (1!) illustration of a father interacting with his child.

This timely and thought-provoking book will make you laugh, cry, and want to scream (sometimes all at once). Blending history of science, cultural criticism, and memoir, The Good Mother Myth pulls back the curtain on the flawed social science behind our contemporary understanding of what makes a good mom.

About Nancy Reddy:

Nancy Reddy is the author of The Good Mother Myth, forthcoming with St. Martin’s Press in January 2025. Her previous books include the poetry collection Pocket Universe and the anthology The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood, which she co-edited with Emily Pérez. She writes the newsletter Write More, Be Less Careful. 

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