We Are Our Mothers' Daughters: Revised and Expanded Edition

In this tenth-anniversary edition of We Are Our Mothers' Daughters, renowned political commentator Cokie Roberts once again examines the nature of women's roles through the revealing lens of her personal experience. From mother to mechanic, sister to soldier, Roberts reveals how much progress has now been madeâ€"and how much further we have to go. Updated and expanded to include a diverse new cast of women, this collection of ess ays offers tremendous insight into the opportunities and challenges that women encounter today.

In a series of new profiles and revealing updates, Roberts reflects upon the number of female achievers who have graced the public stage in the past decade. In addition to the illuminating and sometimes surprising history of women in a variety of fields, several chapters also introduce us to some of the fascinating women she has encountered during the course of her reporting careerâ€"including Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Laura Bush, Billie Jean King, Michelle Rhee, and Dorothy Height. Looking into the future, Roberts focuses on the question of "What next?", exploring how several womenâ€"including herselfâ€"have begun to define themselves in the next stages of their lives. She also relates moving anecdotes about the women in her personal life, including her mother, former congresswoman Lindy Boggs.

Sensitive, straightforward, and perceptive, We Are Our Mothe rs' Daughters celebrates the new diversity of choices and perspectives available to women today and affirms the bonds of sisterhood over the centuriesâ€"a vital, powerful interconnection among all women, regardless of background.

Like any journalist worth her salt, renowned news correspondent Cokie Roberts knows how to ask the tough questions. In We Are Our Mothers' Daughters, she poses what has long been a real doozy: "What is woman's place?" As you might guess, her answer is manifold, reflected by the table of contents, which reads like the Career Day schedule at a progressive girls' school: Sister, Politician, Consumer Advocate, Aunt, Soldier, First Class Mechani c, Friend, Reporter, Civil Rights Activist, Wife, Mother/Daughter, Enterpriser. Roberts makes no claims about this being groundbreaking research, or even an exacting investigation, rather, she explains that these are simply her own stories, and those of women she has come in contact with at different times and places in her life.

Having graduated from Wellesley College in 1964, Roberts explains that the women of her generation were pioneers in many ways--especially when it came to career and workplace issues: "We were the first wo men at almost everything we did, and most of us often had the experience of being the only woman in the room." Accordingly, many of her essays are political in nature: the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (which included "sex" as a prohibited discrimination category by virtual accident); the work of consumer advocate Esther Peterson; and the history of women in the military. But for Roberts, it's clear that the personal is political, and many stories, while not overtly activist--her older sister's death, her circle of female friends, and her experiences as a wife, mother, and reporter--reveal the importance she places on a united community of strong women. Using clean, compelling language throughout, Roberts compiles these different stories to reveal a thread of continuity running through the fabric of women, summarizing, "We are connected throughout time and regardless of place." She ends with a message of encouragement for young women--that we need only look as far as our foremothers for inspiration. --Brangien Davis, Amazon.com Kids Editor









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