Welcome!
Here on my website you'll find information about my books and other writing.
Thanks for stopping by!
Column
Me and My House: a monthly column appearing in Literary Mama
July 2008: Green Galoshes
“I want my daughter's afternoon walk-turned-run to be perfect, her green galoshes bolstering her up into a world where everything is beautiful, everything is perfect, everything is Crayola-colored and hers for the taking.”
Continue reading Me and My House
Read more in the Me and My House archives
Books
Mama, PhD: Women Write about Motherhood and Academic Life
“This is the book we needed when we entered graduate school and the academic job market. We wanted to know that blending family life with life in the ivory tower might be possible; we needed to know that others were attempting this tricky balancing act.”
Catalog Copy
Endorsements
“All those sleepless nights and dirty diapers and baby food in your hair—where's the discursive construction of motherhood when you need it? It's here, in these smart, funny, poignant essays that struggle to balance mind and body, to balance body and soul.”
~Catherine Newman, author of Waiting for Birdy: A Year of Frantic Tedium, Neurotic Angst, and the Wild Magic of Growing a Family
“This is a charming, heartfelt book that expresses the difficulties and the joys of combining a life in academia with motherhood. Each story is different, but the experiences and challenges are widely shared.”
~Mary Ann Mason, author of Mothers on the Fast Track: How a New Generation Can Balance Families and Careers
“Through the voices of those who have weathered the storm, Mama, PhD fills a crucial gap in our understanding of why gender equity has been so difficult to achieve in academe. More importantly, it provides invaluable lessons for young scholars—both men and women—striving to navigate family and academic careers.”
~Robert Drago, author of Striking a Balance: Work, Family, Life
Mama, PhD: Women Write About Motherhood and Academic Life
Co-edited with Caroline Grant
Forthcoming from Rutgers (2008)
Visit the Mama, PhD website
Join the Mama, PhD mailing list!
How to Fit a Car Seat on a Camel: And Other Misadventures Traveling with Kids
“Over the span of a four-hour car trip, my husband can sing the so-called "ABCB Spider" song exactly four hundred and eighty eight times. Figuring it takes twenty three seconds to sing one round of the Spider, approximately one and a half seconds for a two-year-old to say "ABCB Spider again?" and four seconds for my husband to sigh, roll his eyes, and resume singing, that works out to four hundred and eighty eight times over the span of two hundred and forty minutes. I should know. I did the math. I also took the trip.”
Traveling Songs, anthologized in
How to Fit a Car Seat on a Camel: And Other Misadventures Traveling with Kids
Seal Press, 2008
Twentysomething Essays by Twentysomething Writers
“My life has become a series of moments, an odd amalgamation of dirty dishes and thesis research, dirty laundry and comprehensive bibliographies. Added in to this already complicated mix, my daughter now serves as the connective tissue linking fragments together as my time is separated and divided, measured and spaced, by her constant needs.”
My Little Comma, anthologized in
Twentysomething Essays by Twentysomething Writers
Random House, 2006
Buy the book!
Writing
“I want to hang a huge sign on my door that says ‘Nursing Mothers Welcome Here’...I want to decorate my office with pictures of my family, Bible verses, and anything else I can think of that will annoy those who will have power over me. I want to be a thorn in the academy's flesh. Perhaps what I really want is to get fired.”
Fitting In, appearing in Relief: A Quarterly Christian Expression, July 2008.
“Should I have weaned her? The question looms in my mind. Should I have weaned her when I had the chance, before the baby was born? But I didn't want to wean her then. I was so aware of the dwindling days, the end of our time together as just the two of us. Every moment was saffron-precious, and I couldn't bear to waste it. Weaning was not an option.”
A Nursing Triad, appearing on Mothering.com, June 2008.
“Perhaps not the most shining PR moment for Johnson & Johnson? The days following the disinvitations saw blogger comments from mamas who were invited, not invited, and disinvited—and considering that over one hundred women were invited for just fifty spots at camp, a lot of people had something to say.”
Baby Got Camp?, appearing in Brain, Child, June 2008.