Not Becoming My Mother: And Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way Capa dura - 2009

por Ruth Reichl

Bestselling author Ruth Reichl examines her mother's life, givingvoice to the universal unarticulated truth that we are grateful not to beour mothers

In Not Becoming My Mother, bestselling author RuthReichl embarks on a clear-eyed, openhearted investigation ofher mother's life, piecing together the journey of a woman shecomes to realize she never really knew. Looking to her mother'sletters and diaries, Reichl confronts the painful transition hermother made from a hopeful young woman to an increasinglyunhappy older one and realizes the tremendous sacrifices shemade to make sure her daughter's life would not be as disappointingas her own.

Growing up in Cleveland, Miriam Brudno dreamedof becoming a doctor, like her father. But when she announcedthis, her parents said, "You're no beauty, and it's too bad you'resuch an intellectual. But if you become a doctor, no man willever marry you." Instead, at twenty, Miriam opened a bookstore,a profession everyone agreed was suitably ladylike. Shecorresponded with authors all over the world, including philosopherssuch as Bertrand Russell, political figures such as MaxEastman, and novelists such as Christopher Marlowe. It was thehappiest time of her life.

Nearly thirty when she finally married, she fulfilledexpectations, settled down, left her bookstore behind, andstarted a family. But conformity came at a tremendous cost.With labor-saving devices to aid in household chores, there wassimply not enough to do to fill the days. Miriam-and mostof her friends-were smart, educated women who were oftenbored, miserable, and silently rebellious.

On what would have been Miriam's one hundredthbirthday Reichl opens up her mother's diaries for the first timeand encounters a whole new woman. This is a person she hadnever known. In this intimate study Reichl comes to understandthe lessons of rebellion, independence, and self-acceptance thather mother-though unable to guide herself-succeeded inteaching her daughter.