Colette Dowling's uplifting book celebrates the myriad possibilities for women who are now turning 50. "Red hot mamas" are the dozens of women (some famous, some not) who are defying stereotypes to discover renewed power and vitality at midlife. In honest, empowering language, the women share with readers their energetic approaches to menopause, career changes, family life, and intimacy.
The “First Lady of Show Business” and the “Last of the Red Hot Mamas,” Sophie Tucker was a star in vaudeville, radio, film, and television. A gutsy, song-belting stage performer, she entertained audiences for sixty years and inspired a host of younger women, including Judy Garland, Carol Channing, and Bette Midler. Tucker was a woman who defied traditional expectations and achieved success on her own terms, becoming the first female president of the American Federation of Actors and winning many other honors usually bestowed on men. Dedicated to social justice, she advocated for African Americans in the entertainment industry and cultivated friendships with leading black activists and performers. Tucker was also one of the most generous philanthropists in show business, raising over four million dollars for the religious and racial causes she held dear. Drawing from the hundreds of scrapbooks Tucker compiled, Red Hot Mama presents a compelling biography of this larger-than-life performer. Lauren Rebecca Sklaroff tells an engrossing story of how a daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants set her sights on becoming one of the most formidable women in show business and achieved her version of the American dream. More than most of her contemporaries, Tucker understood how to keep her act fresh, to change branding when audiences grew tired and, most importantly, how to connect with her fans, the press, and entertainment moguls. Both deservedly famous and unjustly forgotten today, Tucker stands out as an exemplar of the immigrant experience and a trailblazer for women in the entertainment industry.
Authors, moms, and fitness enthusiasts Kara Douglass Thom and Laurie Kocanda work to balance motherhood and fitness. They know other moms struggle to make exercise a priority in their lives because they speak with similarly minded women at seminars and on their blogs. It was from these conversations--and the interest in them--that the idea for Hot (Sweaty) Mamas was born. This book is perfect for every mom or mom-to-be thinking about starting an exercise program, as well as moms already pursuing their fitness goals. Hot (Sweaty) Mamas reaches a wider audience than other fitness books that merely focus on "getting your prebaby body back" by presenting advice on how to pursue fitness despite a busy schedule, how to carve out time with or without kids to work out, and how to get the support needed to pursue fitness goals. Moms who find it difficult to start or stick with an exercise program will learn how to reframe their thinking. Women who continue to work out and struggle with the guilt sometimes associated with taking "me time" will be reassured. Mothers-to-be will feel better prepared to pass a legacy of health and fitness to their children and make fitness and motherhood coexist. Thom and Kocanda reveal the secrets to being a fit mom inside Hot (Sweaty) Mamas.
Synopsis Abby Adams and Dan Casey are a couple of middle-aged empty nesters, looking forward to enjoying the first period of solitude they've had in years; however, their plans change abruptly when Abby invites her newly widowed mother-in-law, Sarah, to move in. Sarah immediately phones Claudia, Abby's mother, to tell her the "wonderful" news. Playing her trump card of guilt, Claudia masterfully maneuvers herself in the household as well, and by week's end both mothers-in-law have packed their belongings and are descending on their besieged offspring. Act I delights the audience with the difficulties that ensue once the widows stake claim in the children's nest. After a rough beginning, the mothers-in-law bond in Act II and let their spirits soar, taking up drinking, smoking, ignoring curfews and flaunting "parental" control. But is it the mothers who are out of control? History: The play initially received a workshop production at New Gate Theatre in Providence, RI as part of a new plays festival. It was subsequently produced in Canberra, Australia as part of a national "Year of the Older Person" celebration. Since then the play has had a number of sold out extended runs in theaters in the US, India, Canada and a protracted professional run at Detroit Repertory Theatre. Translations of the play are scheduled for production in Tula, Russia and Rovereto, Italy in 2016.
Skip the calorie counting—this gentle guide to post-pregnancy weight loss empowers new moms to make lifestyle changes that naturally lead to improved health and happiness After giving birth, even the most confident, fit, and spiritually centered women can feel depressed, overwhelmed by the responsibilities of motherhood, and disheartened by their postpartum bodies. Erin Cox knows exactly how they feel. She wrote One Hot Mama as a comprehensive guide to support, nurture, and steer women through a fun and completely doable process to lose unwanted pregnancy pounds and create an exceptional life. Erin understands that weight loss is an emotional process, and new mothers need to feel empowered and supported to make healthy lifestyle changes. New moms don’t have the time or energy to count calories, but rather need guidelines and easy-to-implement suggestions on how to improve their diet and exercise routines. Using a realistic approach that has proven to be effective, mothers will be encouraged to make positive life changes that will encourage weight loss, positive thinking, and self-love. Women who read this book will not only feel empowered and invigorated to get their bodies back in shape, but the positive changes will impact every single aspect of life—allowing them to live a joyous and fulfilled life as a woman and mother, even emerging happier and healthier than before getting pregnant.
Mama of ten Abbie Halberstadt helps women humbly and gracefully rise to the high calling of motherhood without settling for mediocrity or losing their minds in the process. Motherhood is a challenge. Unfortunately, our worldly culture offers moms little in the way of real help. Mamas only connect to celebrate surviving another day and to share in their misery rather than rejoice in what God has done and to build each other up in hard times. There has a be a better way, a biblical way, for mamas to grow and thrive. As a daughter of Christ, you have been called to be more than an average mama. Attaining excellence doesn’t have to be unsettling but it will take committed focus and a desire to parent well according to God’s grace and for His glory. M is for Mama offers advice, encouragement, and scripturally sound strategies seasoned with a little bit of humor to help you embrace the challenge of biblical motherhood and raise your children with love and wisdom. Mama, you are worthy of the awesome responsibility God has given you. Now it’s time to start believing you can live up to it.
When a young girl eyes her mother's suitcase full of gorgeous silk, cotton and embroidered saris, she decides that she, too, should wear one, even though she is too young for such clothing. When the mother finally realizes how important it is for her little girl to feel like a big girl on her seventh birthday, she dresses up her daughter in the folds of a blue sari. Feeling grown-up and very pretty, the daughter is thrilled to look just like her mother, even if only for a day. Mama's Saris captures an elegant snapshot of every girl's wish to play dress up.
As a material link between body and culture, self and other, the voice has been endlessly fascinating to artists and critics. Yet it is the voices of women that have inspired the greatest fascination, as well as the deepest ambivalence, because the female voice signifies sexual otherness as well as sexual and cultural power. Embodied Voices explores cultural manifestations of female vocality in the light of current theories of subjectivity, the body and sexual difference. The fourteen essays collected here examine a wide spectrum of discourses, including myth, literature, music, film, psychoanalysis, and critical theory. Though diverse in their critical approaches, the essays are united in their attempt to articulate the compelling yet problematic intersections of gender, voice, and embodiment as they have shaped the textual representation of women and women's self-expression in performance.
“The Bean Trees is the work of a visionary. . . . It leaves you open-mouthed and smiling.” — Los Angeles Times A bestseller that has come to be regarded as an American classic, The Bean Trees is the novel that launched Barbara Kingsolver’s remarkable literary career. It is the charming, engrossing tale of rural Kentucky native Taylor Greer, who only wants to get away from her roots and avoid getting pregnant. She succeeds, but inherits a three-year-old Native American girl named Turtle along the way, and together, from Oklahoma to Arizona, half-Cherokee Taylor and her charge search for a new life in the West. Hers is a story about love and friendship, abandonment and belonging, and the discovery of surprising resources in seemingly empty places. This edition includes a P.S. section with additional insights from the author, background material, suggestions for further reading, and more.
