Isn't Her Grace Amazing! The Women who Changed Gospel Music
Finding Margaret Fuller

Housewife: Why Women Still Do It All and What to Do Instead

The notion of “housewife” evokes strong reactions. For some, it’s nostalgia for a bygone era, simpler and better times when men were breadwinners and women remained home with the kids. For others, it’s a sexist, oppressive stereotype of women’s work. Either way, housewife is a long outdated concept—or is it?

Lisa Selin Davis, known for her smart, viral, feminist, cultural takes, argues that the “breadwinner vs. homemaker” divide is a myth. She charts examples from prehistoric female hunters to working class housewives in the 1930s, from First Ladies to 21st century stay-at-home moms, on a search for answers to the problems of what is referred to as women’s work and motherhood. Davis discovers that women have been sold a lie about what families should be. Housewife unveils a truth: interdependence, rather than independence, is the American way.

The book is a clarion call for all women—married or single, mothers or childless—and for men, too, to push for liberation. In Housewife, Davis builds a case for systemic, cultural, and personal change, to encourage women to have the power to choose the best path for themselves.

More Adult, Non-Juvenile Books

  • Discover the lyrical beauty of early American verse in "The Harp Of Delaware, Or, The Miscellaneous Poems Of The Milford Bard" by John Lofland. This collection presents a vibrant tapestry of 19th-century poetic expressions, reflecting the cultural and historical nuances of Delaware. Lofland, known as the Milford Bard, captures the essence of his time through evocative language and heartfelt themes.

  • In The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, James McBride explores the intertwined lives of the residents of Chicken Hill, a neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans coexist amid struggles and secrets. As the community rallies to protect a deaf boy from institutionalization, the narrative reveals the deep bonds of love and resilience that sustain them, even in the face of adversity and the oppressive forces of society.

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  • The House on Mango Street is a poignant coming-of-age novel that follows Esperanza Cordero as she navigates her childhood in Chicago, exploring her identity and aspirations. Through a series of beautifully crafted vignettes, Sandra Cisneros captures the essence of self-discovery and the importance of telling one's story, making it a cherished classic in American literature.

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  • Told in a series of vignettes—sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous—Cisneros’s masterpiece is a classic story of childhood and self-discovery and one of the greatest neighborhood novels of all time.