A New York Times Notable Book A Potent Spell
Subtitle: Mother Love and the Power of Fear
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Published: January 16, 2003
Place of publication: New York, NY
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 304
ISBN-13: 9780618063499
First sentence: Growing up, I did not think a lot about becoming a mother.
Description: An intriguing exploration of the psychology of mothering.  A Potent Spell demonstrates how a mother's deep, abiding drive to protect and care for a child has created a profound, and often exploited, vulnerability in women.  With historical evidence, interviews, and personal experience, the psychotherapist Janna Malamud Smith brings a rich sensibility and rare intelligence to this subject.
Table of contents: title: Acknowledgments
pagenum: ix; title: Introduction
pagenum: 1; label: Part I
title: THE POTENT SPELL; label: 1.
title: Twice Vulnerable
pagenum: 13; label: 2.
title: Night Walks
pagenum: 22; label: 3.
title: "My Son Who Died"
pagenum: 35; label: 4.
title: Giotto's Tears
pagenum: 44; label: 5.
title: Semele Remembered
pagenum: 57; label: PART II
title: THE NATURE OF ADVICE; label: 6.
title: John Flavel's Token for Mourners
pagenum: 79; label: 7.
title: William Buchan's Advice to Mothers
pagenum: 99; label: 8.
title: From Medicine to Psychology
pagenum: 120; label: 9.
title: The Psychoanalytic Searchlight
pagenum: 141; label: PART III
title: "A PAIN SO DURABLE"; label: 10.
title: The Free Mother
pagenum: 167; label: 11.
title: Worrying Mothers
pagenum: 190; label: 12.
title: Putting Children First
pagenum: 216; label: Epilogue
title: Solomon's Wisdom
pagenum: 239; title: Notes
pagenum: 249; title: Bibliography
pagenum: 263; title: Index
pagenum: 277