CALL FOR PAPERS: Demeter Press

Mothering Adult Children

Editor: Marguerite Guzmán Bouvard Publication Date: 2013

Deadline for abstracts: December 1, 2011
This anthology will explore the changing experiences and the challenges of relationships between mothers and their adult children. I invite submissions that address a range of factors that may impact these relations, health, generational differences in values, conflicts with the spouse of a son or daughter and their family, marital status, how a mother addresses significant problems experienced by her son or daughter, how a mother keeps a loving if long-distance relationship. Some mothers may experience major changes in their relationships with their children, while others may find that they have developed a closer bond.

I especially encourage submissions that reveal different responses to extended families in other cultures, such as Hispanic, Asian, black and aboriginal mothers. Creative and narrative writing is encouraged as well as academic essays in the fields of social history, sociology and psychology.

A goal of this volume is to reveal a reality that is ignored in the broader society as well as the sociological and psychological adaptations to ongoing transformations of mothering. Although we think of ourselves as living in an individualistic society, there are a number of social perceptions that influence our responses to life events. Older mothers and lesbian mothers tend to be marginalized in a society that focuses upon young mothers as well as heterosexual parents. Rather than respecting aging, the broader society often fears and ignores it. Since there are no maps or guidelines for an older mother to continue being a giving and effective parent as children and grandchildren age and change their circumstances, many of them need to continually improvise.

Suggested topics include but are not limited to:
Mothering with disabilities, mothering adult offspring with disabilities or addictions, the differences between mothering a son versus mothering a daughter, mothering a son or daughter who is divorced or experiencing difficulties in their marriages, ongoing, severed or distant relationships, marital status and mothering, mothering adopted offspring, mothering a soldier or a returning veteran, mothering a single daughter or son, mothering a close friend of a son or daughter who has lost his or her mother.

Submission guidelines:
Abstracts should be 250 words. Please also include a brief biography (50 words).
Please send to marguerite@bouvard.us

Deadline for abstracts is December 1, 2011

Accepted papers of 4000-5000 words (15-20 pages) will be due September 2012 and
should conform to Microsoft Word.
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