Development Sociology

What is 'woman' if not 'mother'? Anything she wants to be. Foregoing motherhood has traditionally marked a woman as 'other.' With no official place setting for her in our society, she has hovered on the sidelines: the quirky girl, the neurotic career obsessive, the 'eccentric' aunt. Instead of continuing to paint women without kids as sad, self-obsessed, or somehow dysfunctional, what if we saw them as boldly forging a new vision for a fully autonomous womankind? Or as journalist and thought leader Ruby Warrington asks, what if being a woman without kids were in fact its own kind of legacy?

Wendy Mitchell doesn’t fear anything anymore. After her diagnosis of young-onset dementia in 2014, all of Wendy’s old fears melted away. What more was there to be afraid of when she faced her worst fear: losing her own mind? While living with her diagnosis and facing the extreme changes that come along with a terminal illness, Wendy wrote two Sunday Times-bestselling books, went skydiving for the first time and supports multiple dementia advocacy groups in the UK. She is known for talking about living with dementia, but now – while she is still able to – she explores dying with it.

Americans are generous with their pocketbooks, but trying to make a difference and actually making a difference are two different things. Where Am I Giving? by New York Times best-selling author Kelsey Timmerman takes you on a journey to meet people who will inspire you to live a purpose-filled, generous life and make the greatest impact you can through your career, time, consumer dollars, and donations.

Glen Walsh and Steven Alward were childhood friends in their tight-knit working-class community in Shortland, on the outskirts of Newcastle, New South Wales. Both proud altar boys at the local Catholic church, they went on to attend the city's Catholic boys' highs schools: Glen to Marist Brothers and Steven to St Pius X. Both did well: Steven became a journalist, Glen a priest. But when Glen discovered another priest was sexually abusing boys, he reported the offending to police, breaking Canon Law and his vows to the Catholic 'brotherhood' in the process.

In Marital Cruelty in Antebellum America, Robin C. Sager probes the struggles of aggrieved spouses shedding light on the nature of marriage and violence in the United States in the decades prior to the Civil War. Analyzing over 1,500 divorce records that reveal intimate details of marriages in conflict in Virginia, Texas, and Wisconsin from 1840-1860, Sager offers a rare glimpse into the private lives of ordinary Americans shaken by accusations of cruelty.

The Widow's Survival Guide shows women that they are strong enough to survive and thrive in life after loss. Within The Widow's Survival Guide, Charity Pimentel-Hyams, a widow at 37 with children aged five, three, and one at the time of her husband’s tragic and unexpected death, takes women through the challenges and triumphs of young widowhood.

Dementia is an unmaking, a de-creation - an apocalypse of meaning. Since my father's slow-motion dying and his actual death in November 2014, I have been much preoccupied with dementia: by those who have it, by those who look after them, by the hospital wards whose beds are occupied by those in advanced stages of this self-loss, by the way society denies it, by the science of it, the art and literature about it, the philosophy, by what it means to be human, to have an identity. What is it to be oneself, and what is it to lose one's self?

Lasting Marriage is an encouraging and insightful book that will help your marriage grow and strengthen in love and service to each other. You will learn how your marriage can become one of those success stories you hear about. You will be more in love with your spouse at your 50th wedding anniversary than on your wedding day. By knowing and applying God's meaning and purpose of marriage into your relationship, you will have a lasting marriage.

Many couples prefer to go through relationship books or gather information and love tips so that their marriage can be smooth sailing, if not a bed of roses. But not all romance books will give tips that are realistic and ones that can be followed in daily lives. This book has not kept any stones unturned, as it is an invaluable piece of writing that has served as an ideal marriage help guide for many couples.

When Jilly Cooper was asked to write a book on marriage, she had been married to Leo Cooper for a mere seven years. Now they are celebrating their Golden Wedding, and although the institution of marriage has changed a great deal since this book was first written, much of Jilly's advice – frank, fearless, often hilarious, but always wise – still holds good. From the wedding and the honeymoon to life afterwards, including how to deal with the in-laws and how to tell if you spouse is having an affair....

Dr. Susan Mossman Riva was adopted in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1963. In 1995, she sought the help of the Nebraska Children's Home to find her birthmother, leading to the discover of her birth family in 1996. Miraculously, her search and reunion coincided with her biologicals sister's search. The awe and joy of homecoming brought her to the realization that synchronicity acts as a guidepost, repairing relational brokenness. The divine timing of their reunion happened months before their biological, maternal grandmother died.

This amusing and thought-provoking book contains a huge collection of marriage quotes from Ann Landers, Dr. Suess, Zig Ziglar, Jerry Seinfeld, Mark Twain, Oprah Winfrey, and many more. It is intended for anyone looking for laughs or words of wisdom regarding their engagement, wedding, anniversary, or divorce. Words from comedians, religious leaders, celebrities, politicians, and the Bible make up this diverse assortment of 519 memorable, bite-sized quotations about weddings, divorce, and happily ever after.

Mary Artino is a medical social worker with a 15-year career in hospice. She feels that loss is a subject that isn't addressed often enough in American culture and that much more can be done to begin teaching children about loss and death. This book is a collection of short stories that begins with her own experiences with death and loss within her family. The author believes that death is one of our most profound teachers. In writing Lessons on Loss Not Taught, Mary hopes to demystify the end-of-life experience, making it less foreboding and more relatable.

Francis and Kaiora Tipene aren't your typical funeral directors. With their famous humor and big-hearted personalities, the TVNZ and Netflix reality TV stars are changing the way we think about death and grief. Life as a Casketeer reveals how Francis and Kaiora grew up in families that had few possessions, but were rich with love and tikanga, and how they came to work in their often misunderstood profession. It's also a book about the Maori worldview and traditional funeral customs. The Tipenes make death feel less mysterious and life feel more precious.

Was passiert mit deinem Körper, wenn du stirbst? Was fühlst du - Trauer, Schmerz? Und dann, wenn dein Herzschlag verstummt ist? Was geschieht mit deinem Leichnam, bis du bestattet wirst? Wie wird man um dich trauern? Sterben, Tod und Trauer sind unumgänglich, für jeden von uns. Und doch wissen wir kaum etwas darüber. Wer diese Frage stellt, nähert sich einem Tabu - aber auch einer Wissenslücke. Minutiös und eindringlich beschreibt Roland Schulz, was wir während unserer letzten Tage und Stunden erleben.

" La peur soulève un paradoxe : elle peut soit pousser à agir et soit inhiber l’action. Par exemple, les travaux sur la collapsologie suscitent de très grandes peurs. Grâce à ces alertes, certaines personnes ont pu changer de vie et trouvé du sens, d’autres, au contraire, se sont sentis désespérés. Dans ce livre, nous résolvons ce paradoxe et balisons ainsi le chemin pour agir, à partir de la peur mais aussi de la joie. " Pablo Servigne & Nathan Obadia.

The Ultimate Pre-Planning Handbook by Icarus Carpaccio is an empowering, compassionate guide for those wishing to secure their legacy and relieve their family of emotional and financial burdens. With step-by-step instructions and heartfelt guidance, this handbook simplifies the complex process of planning your funeral, offering comfort and clarity at every stage.

Sieht man ein weißes Licht, wenn man stirbt? Kann mein Körper noch sprechen, wenn ich tot bin? Kann ich zusammen mit meinem Hamster bestattet werden? Kinder fragen klar, offen und ehrlich nach dem Tod. Und genauso muss man ihnen auch antworten. Das ist zumindest die Überzeugung von Caitlin Doughty. Die berühmteste Bestatterin der Welt beantwortet ganz ungeschminkt Fragen von Kindern, die Erwachsene nicht zu stellen wagen. In lustigem, aber immer respektvollem Ton gewährt die Bestatterin so nicht nur Kindern einen Blick hinter den schwarzen Vorhang aus Tabus rund um den Tod.

Women in today's advanced capitalist societies are encouraged to "lean in." The media and government champion women's empowerment. In a cultural climate where women can seemingly have it all, why do so many successful professional women - lawyers, financial managers, teachers, engineers, and others - give up their careers after having children and become stay-at-home mothers? How do they feel about their decision and what do their stories tell us about contemporary society?

Of the many critical conversations we will all have throughout our lifetime, few are as important as the ones discussing death - and not just the practical considerations, such as DNRs and wills, but what we fear, what we hope and how we want to be remembered. Let's Talk About Death (over Dinner) offers keen practical advice on how to have these conversations - not just at the dinner table, but anywhere.