From the acclaimed author of Like a Mother comes a reflection on the state of caregiving in America and an exploration of mothering as a means of social change.
 
“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. Essential Labor 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, New York Times bestselling author of The Sum of Us
Mothering is arguably the most 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—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?
In Essential Labor, Garbes explores assumptions about care, work, and deservedness, offering a deeply personal and rigorously reported look at what mothering is, and can be. A first-generation Filipina 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.
Garbes 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 and as opportunities to find meaning, to nurture a deeper sense of self, pleasure, and belonging.
 
Contributor Bio(s)
 
Angela Garbes is the author of Like a Mother, an NPR Best Book of the Year and a finalist for the Washington State Book Award in nonfiction. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, The Cut, New York, and Bon Appétit, and has been featured on NPR’s Fresh Air. She lives with her family in Seattle.