Much of the literature in on being a mother in academe breaks down the various -- usually negative -- ways women’s careers are impacted by having children, and then suggests ways in which colleges and universities can better support academic moms. And if you’re looking for another book like that, Teacher, Scholar, Mother: Re-Envisioning Motherhood in the Academy isn’t for you. Instead of a quantitative or qualitative study of its subject matter, the book instead explores what it means to be a mother in academe through firsthand accounts collected by editor Anna M. Young. . . .The recurrent theme -- that living a life of the mind while changing diapers, attending kids’ soccer games and trying to raise good human beings is both challenging and enriching to all pursuits -- rings true.

Inside Higher Ed

Teacher, Scholar, Mother accomplishes its stated goal – to re-envision motherhood in the Academy. The grim statistics facing women in the Academy who are (or wish to be) mothers are not mere numbers, but a lived reality for many, either personally or through the lives of colleagues. These facts mirror institutional, social, and cultural inequities that cause ‘the consistent talent leak in the professional pipeline’ which forces so many scholar mothers to leave the Academy. While this grim reality may not be changing fast enough, the essays in this volume offer fresh and innovative perspectives that address these challenges with fortitude and vision; therefore, this book is a must-read for those in the field of higher education –administrators, male and female colleagues, teacher-scholar-mothers, and graduate students…. Teacher, Scholar, Mother is a refreshing must-read that intelligently re-envisions motherhood in the Academy.

Reflective Teaching

Anna Young’s edited collection Teacher, Scholar, Mother offers an important examination into the challenges mother-scholars continue to face, yet the insights provided by the authors extend beyond academia. Covering topics as varied as breastfeeding choices to mediated representations of mothers, the eighteen chapters will be of interest to anyone who is interested in promoting the possibility of a more empowered motherhood.

Sara Hayden, University of Montana

Teacher, Scholar, Mother is a conceptually rich and accessible interdisciplinary collection that vividly captures the unique challenges women face as they balance their diverse roles at different stages in their lives as mothers and academics. Young’s collection stands out from other works on motherhood and academic life in its reflective focus on how the experience of mothering brings new life and understanding to research in the arts, humanities, and sciences.

Anne T. Demo, Pennsylvania State University

Teacher, Scholar, Mother represents a significant contribution to scholars and researchers studying academic motherhood in all its complexities by employing different theoretical and disciplinary approaches, exploring identity and performances of academic motherhood, and addressing the challenges of being an academic mother. This volume offers a much needed approach to the study of academic motherhood in both theory and practice.

Lynn O'Brien Hallstein, Boston University