1st Edition

The Social Economy of Single Motherhood Raising Children in Rural America

By Margaret Nelson Copyright 2005
    266 Pages
    by Routledge

    272 Pages
    by Routledge

    Margaret Nelson investigates the lives of single, working-class mothers in this compelling and timely book. Through personal interviews, she uncovers the different challenges that mothers and their children face in small town America--a place greatly changed over the past fifty years as factory work has dried up and national chains like Walmart have moved in.

    Introduction 1. The Context of Single Mothers' Lives 2. Claiming Reciprocity 3. Accounting for Welfare 4. Building and Rebuilding Family 5. Falling in Love (Again) Conclusion

    Biography

    Margaret Nelson is the Hepburn Professor of Sociology and Women and Gender Studies at Middlebury College in Vermont. She is the author of Negotiated Care and the co-author of Working Hard and Making Do and Circles of Care.

    "The most effective--unintended perhaps--result of this book is that you can't deny the need these families have.  A powerful read."--Altar Magazine (Winter 2006)