Stepping in the Write Direction

The Whispers by Ashley Audrain, similar to another of her books, The Push, touches on the tipping balance of power in a relationship, and within the parents themselves, when a child comes into their lives. Up until that point a woman always has the freedom and options a husband does, presuming employment is equally remunerative.  The books also involve the societal shift towards a couple becoming parents, the tribal expectations and responsibilities placed on male and female in this life passage, that impacts mothers more heavily, often in ways never anticipated, and frequently out of sync with the hard won equality in the workplace and widely evolving global community of the last century.  Audrain’s narrative is further concerned with the internal dialogue women have with themselves as they are abruptly redefined by the outside world upon becoming mothers, and grappling with the enormity of this seismic psychological shift at the very moment they feel overwhelming responsibil...

A Quitter’s Paradise by Elysha Chang  is a  powerful book about autonomy, obligation, and love in relationships, family, and between sexes, as told through disparate stories of interconnected lives.   You might say life is a quitter’s paradise. Or rather the difficulties and challenges in life lend themselves to frustrations that could lead one to give up or quit. A Quitter’s Paradise  is as much a story about connection building, as it is about the lack of connections, and the stories we tell ourselves to come to terms with our lives’ deficiencies. The book follows immigrants from Taiwan who marry and their adult children’s relationships. Rita, who has a largely adversarial relationship with both her daughters, admonishes Eleanor : “You think you are escaping me? By getting married? Let me tell you the truth. A woman never escape.” In this book there are numerous stories about relationships covered, some healthy, and some predatory. Eleanor later seems to share...