“This book offers important insights that illustrate the significance of how mothers and daughters interface with each other. Often, books either emphasize the mother’s point of view or concentrate on the daughters’ perspective in relation to the mothers. This book, crafted by Allison M. Alford and Michelle Miller-Day, gives the reader a different vantage point to understand a complicated relationship between mothers and daughters. The authors advocate for examining motherhood and daughterhood as socially constructed.
“The perspective Alford and Miller-Day ascribe allows fluidity in the way relationships between and among mothers and daughters are defined. Through the element of communication, the authors illustrate the meaning of motherhood and daughterhood across the lifespan.
“To accomplish these goals, the book presents a number of contexts that reflect multiple aspects of change and recalibration of mother-daughter relationships in everyday life. For example, this book helps readers consider outside influences such as the significance of media representation of mothers and daughters and new technologies. They identify life issues such as coping with pregnancy and disabilities, as well as navigating difficult conversations such as sexuality and stages of life.
“Overall, this book is rich with insights that are easily assessable and clear about the way communication functions to yield a better understanding of the mother-daughter relationship. This is a must-read for the general public and for researchers interested in this area of inquiry.”
Sandra Petronio, Director, Communication Privacy Management Center; Senior Affiliate Faculty, Charles Warren Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics; Professor, Department of Communication Studies, School of Liberal Arts, Indiana University – Purdue University, Indianapolis; National Communication Association Distinguished Scholar