Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Spirals by Joan Gould - Available

Spirals

A Woman's Journey Through Family Life

by Joan Gould
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Read a sample Read a sample
1 of 1 copy available
“A journey to the center of a woman’s life.”—Maggie Scarf
 
“A moving and exquisitely drawn portrait . . . Spirals is about commitment, courage, and the meaning of love.”—New Woman
 
“Family. Familiar. Only my family isn’t familiar at all. My friends are familiar, my friends are as dependable as telephone poles, but the members of my family change in size, looks, powers, burdens and expectations, when all I ask of them is that they remain the same.
 
Children grow, gather power while their parents lose it, leave home, travel in other orbits. Parents move, remarry or don’t remarry, dwindle away, die. Spouses may stay around for a long while—mine did, for twenty-eight years—but sooner or later they leave.
 
And I keep changing too, even though I’m the one who stays home. I picture myself in the role of mother, particularly the mother of young children, because this is a self I like—distracted and short-tempered, I grant you, but well-meaning in spite of outbursts. Still, I have to recognize that this is different from the self who was a daughter or wife—and these don’t have much in common with the new, apprentice selves, who have to learn a whole set of limits, as mother of adults, mother-in-law, widow and grandmother. One thing these selves have in common, however: They’re not the same as my self when I’m alone.”—from Spirals

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 31, 2012

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780307826459

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780307826459
      • File size: 1941 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 1, 1988
      At once intensely personal and universal, Gould's book goes beyond the memorable pieces she has contributed to the New York Times "Hers'' column. She describes her life as a daughter, wife, mother, widow and grandmother in prose that is exquisitely simple, unsentimental and powerfully moving. After 28 years of a loving marriage, her husband Martin succumbed to cancer and her life changed irrevocably; the ``spirals'' continued as her children grew up and she was no longer so necessary to them. Although Gould celebrates the frequent joys of her life's journey, it's clear that she has suffered wounds, particularly in the sterile relationship with her mother. The scenes between them convey a deep sense of loss. Trying to understand why her mother merely tolerates her, Gould concludes that mother love is a talent abundant in some women, denied others. It is a talent she herself possesses, along with the strength to live and work on her own.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 6, 1989
      ``At once intensely personal and universal, Gould's book goes beyond the memorable pieces she has contributed to the New York Times 's `Hers' column. She describes her life as a daughter, wife, mother, widow and grandmother in prose that is exquisitely simple, unsentimental and powerfully moving,'' reported PW.

    • Library Journal

      April 1, 1988
      In this excellent book Gould focuses on her deepest feelings, as she shares what it means to be a daughter, wife, mother, mother-in-law, widow, and grandmother. She likens this progress through life to a spiral, rather than a straight line or a circle. Gould's poignant meditations are well written and touch universal themes. Although Gould discusses her husband's death to cancer, she doesn't dwell on being a wife and widow; rather she discusses the many roles of a woman throughout her adult life. Still, readers who enjoyed books like Lynn Caine's Widow (1974) will enjoy Spirals. Recommended for public libraries and women's studies collections. Susan A. McBride, L.R.C., Northeast Texas Community Coll., Mt. Pleasant

      Copyright 1988 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading
Check Out What's Being Checked Out Right Now