December 8, 2009

Herizons Reviews Double Lives

The fall issue of Herizons calls Double Lives a "poignant and searing anthology." Here are some excerpts from the review.

"The collection is intensely personal, filled with intimacies and confessions."

"In Double Lives, the editors have assembled a remarkable collection. For all of the difficulties and challenges the contributors faced, almost without exception they would heartily endorse the closing piece by Rachel Rose. In 'Letters to a Young Mother Who Writes,' Rose affirms that 'mothering has made me a better writer.'"

October 7, 2009

Geist Reviews Double Lives

Writer Jill Boettger talks about transformations in her Double Lives review:
'When my mother-in-law gave me a copy of Double Lives: Writing and Motherhood, edited by Shannon Cowan, Fiona Tinwei Lam and Cathy Stonehouse (McGill-Queen’s University Press), I was touched by her gesture in support of my writer-self and pleased to discover, when I opened the book, a sense of camaraderie with the women in the essays. Their stories reminded me that, as Stephanie Bolster says in her essay, “Transformations,” “what is most worthwhile is rarely easy.”'
Read the full review.

February 13, 2009

Double Lives in Canadian Literature

"In her preface to Double Lives: Writing and Motherhood, Marni Jackson observes how little has changed since she published The Mother Zone in 1992. Although a new generation of mothers seems even more determined “not to let motherhood change their lives,” this determination is futile “because, of course, having children transforms you.” The twenty-four personal narratives that make up Double Lives suggest that women continue to be surprised by the difference between how they imagined the impact of mothering upon their writing and the reality of the experience. Surprised by motherhood, they write, often in fragments—because who has time?—about themselves, their children, and the world."
>>Read the full review.

February 12, 2009

Ascent Magazine Reviews Double Lives

"Double Lives offers more than many touching and often humorous silhouettes of the everyday lives of mothers who write. It offers a compelling forum for discussing the many societal and cultural threads that form the backdrop from which writing mothers express themselves."
>>Read the complete review.“