Reinventing Home

Essays by six women from different backgrounds and age groups discuss the importance of maintaining a rich domestic life, addressing such issues as spring cleaning, home repair, privacy, self-reliance, and the dilemma of balancing domestic and professional lives

Through these eloquent and personal essays, six women (including editors Stoner and Green) share insights on how to strike a balance between work and domestic lives, and how the home can be a place for self-discovery and nourishment. When Stoner, a mother of three and former newspaper manager, found herself exhausted and running on empty, she let her home life heal her by decorating a new country house, teaching her daughter to swim, and reading. Mary Beth Danielson, a graduate student and former minister, stresses the importance of rituals, such as sit-down family dinners ("Maybe it is our adult responsibility to create the routines that will hold us together when the world cracks around us."p. 144 ), and Green, a journalist, explains why her bed, "the primeval place,"p. 20 is the heart of her home. These musings over the concept of home range broadly from living alone to being a packrat to family relationships and conflicts over domestic activities, such as household chores, managing budgets and interior decorating. These authors convey the message that, in order to enjoy the homes they create, women must relax and temper the need to be perfect housekeepers. First serial to Lear's, Glamour and Ladies' Home Journal.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Here is a no-nonsense, down-to-earth guide to successful vacationing with children. Loaded with practical information for traveling at home or abroad, it leaves nothing to chance. The authors offer sound advice on trip preparation: advance research suggestions for all family members; mapping the itinerary; selecting accommodations, restaurants, tour packages, and more. Information on immunizations; emergency services in foreign countries; detailed lists of toys and games to pack; first aid items, car seats, and other equipment for infants and toddlers; packing hints for young children, teenagers, and infants are all covered in depth. Rules of thumb (find a park or beach), rainy day activities, likes/dislikes, and attention spans are also discussed. Tourist information and attractions in each European country are geared toward children's interests. This is essential for all young families daring to travel as families. Highly recommended for most public libraries.
- Ann E. Cohen, Roches ter P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.