• Someone Other than a Mother

  • Tearing Up the Social Scripts and Rewriting a Life Well-Lived
  • By: Erin Lane
  • Narrated by: Erin S. Lane
  • Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (17 ratings)

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Someone Other than a Mother  By  cover art

Someone Other than a Mother

By: Erin Lane
Narrated by: Erin S. Lane
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Publisher's summary

Theologian Erin S. Lane overturns dominant narratives about motherhood and inspires women to write their own stories.

Cultural scripts about motherhood are so deeply ingrained that we’ve come to accept them as universal truth, putting moms on an impossible pedestal and shaming childless women and nontraditional families for not measuring up. We’ve all heard these lines before:

  • “Parenting is the toughest job in the world.” This idea undermines the work of non-moms and puts pressure on moms (because the burden still falls disproportionately to women) to make parenting their full-time gig.
  • “It’ll be different when you have your own.” Not only does this idea diminish the love of nonbiological parents, but it pushes parents to go it alone, when in fact children are a gift best shared.
  • “Family is the greatest legacy.” For many, children are the ultimate sign of a life well-lived, and successes in other areas are discounted, but this book explores how women are making meaning beyond mothering and leaving a legacy predicated on more than DNA.

Interweaving Lane’s story with those of others who also chose to go off-script - including singles and couples, stepparents and foster parents, the infertile and the ambivalent - Someone Other than a Mother creates a vision for a woman’s life that affirms the beauty of motherhood while decoupling female purpose from procreation.

©2022 Erin Lane (P)2022 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about Someone Other than a Mother

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I needed to hear this story.

My story is similar to Erin's, yet different. I am involuntarily childless, infertile. I was so depressed because I could not have biological children. I adopted at 52. I now don't like being called mom. Godmother is the title I like best. Her story resonated with me because I too believed I was not a real or complete woman because I didn't have children due to the narrative that is spoonfed to women our whole lives. I felt like God sent this book to my suggestions list to know that there are others who feel as I do. Yes, it is time to flip the script!

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Everyone should read this!

If you are a human being, this book is relevant to you. Erin Lane is thoughtful, generous, and her narration is perfect.

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