Rocking the Cradle: Thoughts on Motherhood, Feminism and the Possibility of Empowered Mothering. Andrea O'Reilly. Toronto, Ontario: Demeter Press, 2006; vii + 206 pages; ISBN 1-55014-449-9; $24.95 (paper).
In this book, Andrea O'Reilly has compiled ten of her own essays on motherhood and mothering, spanning 15 years of work, in an effort to address the lack of writing on mothering within feminist literature. The main questions she grapples with in this volum e are: How do we challenge patriarchal motherhood? How do we create feminist mothering? And how are these two aim s interconnected? Section one, entitled "Motherhood," sets out to discuss the ways that motherhood, as an oppressive and hegemonic ideology, is harm ful to women. Motherhood is defined by O'Reilly as a patriarchal institution that differs from a woman's lived experience of mothering. This distinction, like many of O'Reilly's arguments, develops from the writings of Adrienne Rich. Section two builds on this experiential concept of m othering by exploring ways that wom en can resist motherhood and embrace a fem inist m othering model. O'Reilly challenges earlier feminist critiques of mothering by arguing that these blame the mother (rather than the institution of m otherhood) and encourage a disconnection between mother and child. As an alternative, O'Reilly advises a return to engaged and connected parenting, specifically, a feminist m othering m odel which consists of both anti-sexist child rearing and em powered m othering; the latter being more important because it models the former.
As a young mother working my way along the academic career path, I enjoyed Rocking the Cradle and could relate to much of what the author has to say. She effectively describes the disjuncture between being a feminist and a mother, as well as the difficulties of juggling academ ia and child rearing. O'Reilly points out that parenting

102

Atlantis 33.2, 2009 www.msvu.ca/atlantis

norm s differ along class, as well as racial/cultural lines. Her exam ples are restricted to Anglo and African Am erican ideologies and styles of motherhood, and while it would have been interesting to see her interrogate a broader spectrum of norms and practices, her foci speak to her extensive research in these cultural comm unities. Her critique of traditional feminist theories on m othering requires expansion, as she does not address the lack of space within feminism for stay-at-home mothers. This parenting model is often scorned as "non-fem inist," which m ay alienate m others who subscribe to fem inist ideals and yet feel judged or rejected by feminism.
I recognize that in order for O'Reilly to create a space for discussions of feminist mothering, there is a need to define what that is. At the same time, by creating a definition of feminist mothering she runs the risk of recreating an new meta-narrative on the right way to mother, and thus, this task needs to be done with the greatest of care. That said, Rocking the Cradle is an insightful and well-written examination of motherhood in North America, and offers valid critiques of both mainstream and feminist narratives on m otherhood, as well as useful strategies for challenging them. It is well suited for use in m ultiple social science and humanities disciplines, both at the upper undergraduate and graduate levels, that focus on motherhood in western society.
Christine Knott Memorial University