The oppressive and the empowering dimensions of maternity, as well as the complex relationship between the two, first identified by Adrienne Rich in Of Woman Born, has been the focus of feminist scholarship on motherhood over the last three decades. While feminist research on motherhood has focused on many topics, these studies have been informed and shaped by larger inquiries: namely, how do we challenge patriarchal motherhood? How do we create feminist mothering? And finally, how are the two aims interconnected? Rocking the Cradle, composed of twelve essays, will explore these questions. "Andrea O'Reilly provides a much-needed antidote to the popularized misconception that feminists are ?against? mothers. A careful and comprehensive engagement with theoretical issues, significant texts and personal experience, Rocking the Cradle is certain to become essential reading for anyone wishing to think through the maze of motherhood as social institution and mothering as lived experience. --Meredith W. Michaels, Professor of Philosophy, Smith College and co-author with Susan J. Douglas of The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined All Women (Free Press 2004) "True to its name, O?Reilly?s collection "rocks"?and not just the cradle, but also the foundation of patriarchy?s rigid rules for mothering. This highly readable, sweeping, and provocative volume offers a broadly appealing model of the road to empowerment through the practices of feminist mothering." ?Sharon Hays, Streisand Chair of Gender Studies, University of Southern California "This is an important book. Andrea O?Reilly makes a powerful case for the necessity of empowered mothering, and anyone who has experienced motherhood as a radicalizing event in her own life will recognize herself in this nuanced, thoughtful discussion of what it means to be a feminist and a mother in the twenty-first century." ?Andrea Buchanan, author of Mother Shock and editor of Literary Mama: Reading for the Maternally Inclined "By tracking the parallels between the author?s evolution as a feminist scholar and her changing experience of motherhood, Rocking the Cradle offers a unique and important contribution to the field of maternal studies. The range of works included in this collection is particularly noteworthy for revealing the challenges and complexities of theorizing a working model of empowered mothering in Western society." ?Judith Stadtman Tucker, Editor, The Mothers Movement Online Andrea O’Reilly is a Professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at York University and is founder and director of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (mirci). She is the author and editor of eighteen books on motherhood and the editor of the first Encyclopedia of Motherhood.