The woman who gave birth to her mother

Chernin explores the stages of change through which women travel, from idealization of the past and revising it: blaming the mother and forgiving her, letting go of her and, ultimately, giving birth to a new self. Chernin's tales of women's transformations are arresting and full of depth: one woman, adopted as a child, embarks on a journey to locate her birth mother; another finds the source of a voice that haunts her - the voice of her daughter, given up at birth; a third unlocks her own creative process and paints her way out of a painful symbiosis. Framing these stories is the narrative of Chernin's relationship with her own daughter and the insights won from three generations of women in her family.

Year

1920

Language

English

Publisher

Penguin

Editions

4

Pages

219

ISBN

9780140284669

Data source: Wikidata