Magic 8 Ball Mind
The book also signals a way out of a prominent contemporary narrative in which women—usually white women—are portrayed as intellectually and creatively stifled by childbearing, and motherhood is characterized as an inherent threat to individual possibility. This narrative isn’t wrong; during the past nineteen months, I’ve had less time to work, hav... See more
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In trying to process it, I wonder why I’ve felt such inner resistance to accepting that anything I do as a mother might actually be a page in a book. And really, it doesn’t take long to connect that feeling to the fact that in popular culture, at least in America for the past forever
Jessi Klein • I'll Show Myself Out
So much of who I was—my daily habits, my identifying clothing—had to get thrown away in making room to become a mother. What’s left of me is now sharing space with a little boy, and as a result, my mental capacity has been reduced from a decent three bed/two bath apartment to, at best, a little tenement studio. While the tight space creates some co
... See moreJessi Klein • I'll Show Myself Out
It helps me because every day there are contractions of frustration, of anxiety, of wanting to yell, of giving in to yelling, of wanting to run away, of being brave when my son is scared even though I am scared, of comforting him even though I feel I have nothing to give. Drinking has been my ongoing epidural because being a mother involves, in so
... See moreJessi Klein • I'll Show Myself Out: Essays on Midlife and Motherhood
It didn’t surprise me to read that researchers at the University of Massachusetts found, in a synthesis of literature on working mothers, that matrescence was associated with enhanced knowledge, skills and capacity. They found evidence that it “strengthened women’s mindset, willpower, and overall emotional intelligence.”[7] Nothing that I had previ
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