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A review by jdscott50
Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood by Jessica Grose
emotional
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Jessica Grose's new non-fiction book Screaming on the Inside explores her motherhood journey during the Covid-19 pandemic. Juggling virtual work, household chores, and raising a child comes with immense pressure. As Grose points out, "You could do everything right that American society pressures you to do as an individual and as a mother, and if anything goes wrong, not only are you on your own, but you will also be either tacitly or explicitly blamed for your deviation."
Grose gives us a brief history of the perils of being a woman and mother in the United States. Women could only marry and be mothers. To work outside the home was greedy, man-shaming, and unwomanly. Slowly, women were permitted freedom and control of their trajectory over time but not without public shaming. Enter Covid-19. With the absence of in-person schools, women were responsible for managing their children's education on top of working and household duties. Were the men not required to do anything? Gender roles came roaring back. Grose documents her own struggles raising three children, managing her job, and keeping everyone safe. She interviews countless other mothers who lost sleep, lost jobs, and lost relationships when all this unpaid child labor fell on a generation of women.
Excellent timing for this book. It, unfortunately, becomes dated quickly as it was completed a year ago. The Covid threat has changed, but we have learned nothing. With the sense of urgency gone, so does any progress to protect struggling mothers from a nervous breakdown.
Grose gives us a brief history of the perils of being a woman and mother in the United States. Women could only marry and be mothers. To work outside the home was greedy, man-shaming, and unwomanly. Slowly, women were permitted freedom and control of their trajectory over time but not without public shaming. Enter Covid-19. With the absence of in-person schools, women were responsible for managing their children's education on top of working and household duties. Were the men not required to do anything? Gender roles came roaring back. Grose documents her own struggles raising three children, managing her job, and keeping everyone safe. She interviews countless other mothers who lost sleep, lost jobs, and lost relationships when all this unpaid child labor fell on a generation of women.
Excellent timing for this book. It, unfortunately, becomes dated quickly as it was completed a year ago. The Covid threat has changed, but we have learned nothing. With the sense of urgency gone, so does any progress to protect struggling mothers from a nervous breakdown.