{"product_id":"essential-labor-mothering-as-social-change-isbn-9780062937360","title":"Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNATIONAL BESTSELLER\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Angela Garbes has given us the definitive explanation for something we all share: the sense that something is not right about our society’s treatment of parenting. \u003ci\u003eEssential Labor\u003c\/i\u003e is a beautifully written, painstakingly researched, and courageously personal book. Garbes reveals the way systems exploit caregiving and shows us how the essential work of mothering can fix not just family life, but society. A timely and unforgettable book.”—Heather McGhee, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Sum of Us\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eLike a Mother\u003c\/i\u003e comes a reflection on the state of caregiving in America, and an exploration of mothering as a means of social change.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Covid-19 pandemic shed fresh light on a long-overlooked truth: mothering is among the only essential work humans do. In response to the increasing weight placed on mothers and caregivers—and the lack of a social safety net to support them—writer Angela Garbes found herself pondering a vital question: How, under our current circumstances that leave us lonely, exhausted, and financially strained, might we demand more from American family life? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eEssential Labor,\u003c\/i\u003e Garbes explores assumptions about care, work, and deservedness, offering a deeply personal and rigorously reported look at the economics of care and what mothering is, and can be. A first-generation Filipino-American, Garbes shares the perspective of her family's complicated relationship to care work, placing mothering in a global context—the invisible economic engine that has been historically demanded of women of color. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGarbes contends that while the labor of raising children is devalued in America, the act of mothering offers the radical potential to create a more equitable society. In \u003ci\u003eEssential Labor,\u003c\/i\u003e Garbes reframes the physically and mentally draining work of meeting a child's bodily and emotional needs as opportunities to find meaning, to nurture a deeper sense of self, pleasure, and belonging. This is highly skilled labor, a powerful act of social responsibility that impacts society at its most foundational level.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart galvanizing manifesto, part poignant narrative, \u003ci\u003eEssential Labor\u003c\/i\u003e is a beautifully rendered reflection on care that reminds us of the irrefutable power and beauty of mothering.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCombining personal history with rigorous reporting, \u003ci\u003eEssential Labor\u003c\/i\u003e reveals:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe Global History of Care:\u003c\/b\u003e Discover the hidden history of care work, from the Philippines to the United States, and the invisible economic engine historically demanded of women of color.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eMothering as Social Change:\u003c\/b\u003e Learn how the devalued work of raising children holds the radical potential to create a more just and equitable society for everyone.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA Call for Community:\u003c\/b\u003e Challenge the lonely, exhausting, and financially strained reality of American family life and find a path toward robust community support.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFinding Meaning in Mothering:\u003c\/b\u003e Reframe the daily, draining tasks of caregiving as powerful opportunities to nurture a deeper sense of self, pleasure, and belonging.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“You might think this is a book for parents. You're wrong. \u003cem\u003eEssential Labor\u003c\/em\u003e expands our understanding of what \"mothering\" can and should look like; it's a book for \u003cem\u003eanyone\u003c\/em\u003e—including and especially people who aren't parents—who wants to imagine what a more equitable and caring community could look like.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAnne Helen Petersen, author of Out of Office and Can’t Even\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eEssential Labor\u003c\/em\u003e is for those of us who are exhausted and disoriented by these pandemic years but also eager to learn how to better care for our families, our communities, and ourselves. It's become abundantly clear that no one is coming to save us; so how do we save each other, beginning with our youngest? Through rigorous research, vulnerable reflections, and lush writing, Garbes explores that question in ways that will crack open your heart and mind. Beyond laying out the challenges to raising whole and healthy children in a world shaped by capitalism, colonization, misogyny, and white supremacy, Garbes offers a warm, inviting vision of how we might ensure our own survival in a rapidly changing world. \u003cem\u003eEssential Labor \u003c\/em\u003eis the book we need right now.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDani McClain, author of We Live For The We\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A book that feels both sprawling in scope and intimate in execution—what a thrill to follow Angela’s mind as she radically reimagines the value assigned to care work.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMayukh Sen, author of Taste Makers\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"In \u003cem\u003eEssential Labor\u003c\/em\u003e, Angela Garbes defines motherhood as a form of collective labor, contemplating love as a communal act and envisioning a society in which care work is no longer considered separate from or lesser than paid work. This book is a bold and generous offering that brings us closer to a future in which the everyday labor of care is treated to the reverence and value it is truly worth. Everyone should read this book.\"  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCarvell Wallace, New York Times bestselling co-author of The Sixth Man\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Meditation, memoir, and manifesto in one, this book makes a case for the mother in all of us. It’s an expansive and intimate testament to how and why we should care for others—and ourselves.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLigaya Mishan, New York Times writer and coauthor of Filipinx\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Angela Garbes has given us the definitive explanation for something we all share: the sense that something is not right about our society’s treatment of parenting. \u003cem\u003eEssential Labor \u003c\/em\u003eis a beautifully written, painstakingly researched, and courageously personal book. Garbes reveals the way systems exploit caregiving and shows us how the essential work of mothering can fix not just family life, but society. A timely and unforgettable book.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHeather McGhee, New York Times bestselling author of The Sum of Us\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“When it comes out on May 10, this book is going straight to the top of the to-be-read pile” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGood Housekeeping\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"I have never felt more held, challenged, and called to action by a book. Angela Garbes seamlessly weaves together memoir, research, and cultural analysis in a way that is expansive and profoundly intimate. She offers a path forward for family life that is simultaneously instinctive, generous, and revolutionary, sounding a note that American society badly needs to hear. I know I will think about this book for the rest of my life—it's that important.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLydia Kiesling, author of The Golden State\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eEssential Labor \u003c\/em\u003eis exactly the right book, written by exactly the right author. at exactly the right moment. Garbes's work will help us put ourselves, our families, and our communities back together in a way that is more compassionate, more embodied, and more alive than before.\"   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEmily Nagoski, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling author of Come As You Are and Burnout\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Mothering is an invisible form of labor that is too rarely given its due as skilled, multi-dimensional work. Through historical analysis, personal narrative, and expert storytelling, Garbes illuminates the ways in which this essential work is devalued, under compensated, and inequitably distributed, while also offering a vision for a better future. \u003cem\u003eEssential Labor\u003c\/em\u003e is a rigorous, heartfelt, and deeply hopeful book.\"  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play and Find Your Unicorn Space\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"In \u003cem\u003eEssential Labor\u003c\/em\u003e, Garbes challenges our preconceived notions about the value and visibility of mothering, and indeed, all caregiving work. She asks us to recognize how our personal biases and complicity in larger systems have caused us to so consistently privilege one kind of motherhood (white, thin, heteronormative, wealthy) over all others. And she then blows it all apart, and imagines a far better world, with gorgeous prose and heart-breaking precision.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVirginia Sole-Smith, author of The Eating Instinct\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A celebration of caregiving. . . . A sensitive reflection on essential work.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"[Angela Garbes reflects] on the power that mothering holds in creating a better world, one which respects care as the critical infrastructure making all institutions possible.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889681101029,"sku":"NP9780062937360","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062937360.jpg?v=1730231739","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/essential-labor-mothering-as-social-change-isbn-9780062937360","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}