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June 13, 2006 | Blog |  7 Comments

Interview with Caitlin Flanagan

By Jen Lawrence

My interview with Caitlin Flanagan and review of her book, To Hell with All That: Loving and Loathing Our Inner Housewife, have been posted. If you have any comments, we’d love to read them here.

Tagged: Reading

7 replies on “Interview with Caitlin Flanagan”

Shandrasays:
June 14, 2006 at 2:35 pm

Great interview!

Libbysays:
June 14, 2006 at 4:45 pm

Great review, Jen, and a fabulous profile. Here’s my take on them in my blog: http://midlifemama.blogspot.com/2006/06/required-reading.html

MommyWithAttitudesays:
June 15, 2006 at 8:49 pm

I find Flanagan to be completely baffling. But you picked up on a lot of great points that I missed.

carolinesays:
June 15, 2006 at 9:29 pm

What a terrific review, Jen, and a fascinating profile. Thanks for these! I’ve quoted you on my blog:
http://www.carolineandtony.com/2006/06/15/the-last-best-word-on-caitlin-flanagan/

Her Bad Mothersays:
June 16, 2006 at 2:25 am

Savvy marketer, indeed. I really appreciate that you pursued this issue because that is, really, what it comes down to. The book, as you say, is not tremendously controversial. But it *was* advertised as such, and Flanagan herself overtly invited and flirted with that controversy. And it’s false ‘controversy’ like that fosters ill-feeling among women and mothers. I resent Flanagan’s disingenuity about that.

One more thing (and I may need to post about this): I also resent the continual emphasis on’loss.’ What about ‘choice’? Obviously, we can’t have everything (although as you say, Flanagan has a lot). Choosing to have children limits our choices in other areas. So does staying at home. So does working outside the home. But why characterize it as a loss? Don’t we make the choices we do around children, family and work – indeed, anything – because we expected to *gain* from those choices?

Women (or men) who *must* work outside the home, especially when they would rather stay at home with their children – that is, people without choices – can talk about loss. Those who can and do make choices should recognize their good fortune and celebrate those choices and what they *gain* from what they’ve chosen.

Ann Dsays:
June 17, 2006 at 3:49 am

A fabulous read, Jen. Thank you.

Mary Tsaosays:
June 22, 2006 at 7:37 am

At the latest Berkeley MotherTalk I admitted to “not hating” Flanagan’s book and the I ducked, expecting fur to fly. Rebecca said I’d probably like your essay, and (not suprisingly) I do! But not just because I agree with your conclusion, but also because it’s well written.

Whew. Glad to know I’m not the only woman who is okay with Flanagan’s book.


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