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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
relaxing
informative
inspiring
reflective
Enjoyable anecdotes and helpful information. Very insightful to the future of birth rates and the benefits of large families.
The stories in the book were interesting, and it does portray a population that does not get talked about much. But while I enjoyed some of this, I really couldn't stomach the way in which it drew conclusions from the stories.. at first I thought the book was not very rigorous and the author a bit too biased.. by the end I was convinced it was religious propaganda trying (not even too hard) to look like research.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Exceptional book! Well written and well presented, I loved the integration of the stories of each of the mothers and the unique perspectives they all offered.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
None of this was surprising to me. The women who have 5 or more children do so because they believe children are worth the sacrifice. We are not tax incentivizing our way out of the low birth rate. The interviews became repetitive after a few chapters, and I do wish they were a little more edited. I think this book would be hard to read if you struggle with infertility. I did find her accidental findings on infant mortality and birth rates interesting but again not surprising. A trend she observed was those mothers who lost a child saw life as precious and were open to having more children even after such a devastating loss.
She really lost me on the LAST page of this book where she calls public education “a government cartel designed to compete against religious schools,” BUT overall an interesting read.
This book is the culmination of the author’s research on women with college degrees who chose to have 5+ children (many have 7+). She concludes that the reason birth rates are low are due to a lack of value placed on children, particularly outside religious communities, and that those in religious communities are more likely to value children for xyz reason. Makes sense.
Though understandably outside of the scope of her research, I wish the book had addressed more about the financial situation of these families and how finances play a part in large families. It is quite obvious that although evidence may not point to tax credits/economic subsidies increasing the birth rate, a good many of her interviewees had a certain level of wealth. Additionally, I’d be interested to read some negative experiences of children/siblings in large families.
Because the author herself is Catholic and has a large family (which she acknowledges), it also felt biased and in some parts she seemed to make assumptions that were not clearly derived from her interviews.
I, too, value children, but probably not enough to have 8 of them! :)
This book is the culmination of the author’s research on women with college degrees who chose to have 5+ children (many have 7+). She concludes that the reason birth rates are low are due to a lack of value placed on children, particularly outside religious communities, and that those in religious communities are more likely to value children for xyz reason. Makes sense.
Though understandably outside of the scope of her research, I wish the book had addressed more about the financial situation of these families and how finances play a part in large families. It is quite obvious that although evidence may not point to tax credits/economic subsidies increasing the birth rate, a good many of her interviewees had a certain level of wealth. Additionally, I’d be interested to read some negative experiences of children/siblings in large families.
Because the author herself is Catholic and has a large family (which she acknowledges), it also felt biased and in some parts she seemed to make assumptions that were not clearly derived from her interviews.
I, too, value children, but probably not enough to have 8 of them! :)
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I loved this book! I found it very intriguing, encouraging, and comforting. Highly recommend