Angela Garbes

A candid, feminist, and personal deep dive into the science and culture of pregnancy and motherhood Like most first-time mothers, Angela Garbes was filled with questions when she became pregnant. What exactly is a placenta and how does it function? How does a body go into labor? Why is breast best? Is wine totally off-limits? But as she soon discovered, it’s not easy to find satisfying answers. Your obstetrician will cautiously quote statistics; online sources will scare you with conflicting and often inaccurate data; and even the most trusted books will offer information with a heavy dose of judgment. To educate herself, the food and culture writer embarked on an intensive journey of exploration, diving into the scientific mysteries and cultural attitudes that surround motherhood to find answers to questions that had only previously been given in the form of advice about what women ought to do—rather than allowing them the freedom to choose the right path for themselves. In Like a Mother, Garbes offers a rigorously researched and compelling look at the physiology, biology, and psychology of pregnancy and motherhood, informed by in-depth reportage and personal experience. With the curiosity of a journalist, the perspective of a feminist, and the intimacy and urgency of a mother, she explores the emerging science behind the pressing questions women have about everything from miscarriage to complicated labors to postpartum changes. The result is a visceral, full-frontal look at what’s really happening during those nine life-altering months, and why women deserve access to better care, support, and information. Infused with humor and born out of awe, appreciation, and understanding of the female body and its strength, Like a Mother debunks common myths and dated assumptions, offering guidance and camaraderie to women navigating one of the biggest and most profound changes in their lives.

A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy

Like a Mother

From the acclaimed author of Like a Mother comes an investigation into the current state of caregiving in America and an exploration of motherhood as a means of social change. The Covid-19 pandemic reminded us of an overlooked truth: mothering is among the only essential work humans do. In response to the increasing weight placed on mothers and caregivers--and the lack of a social safety net to support them--Garbes penned a piece for New York Magazine, "The Numbers Don't Tell the Whole Story," which quickly went viral. Since then, Garbes has found herself pondering a vital question: How, under our current circumstances that leave us exhausted and depleted, might we demand more from American family life? The answer, she believes, is by doubling down on the value of mothering and its radical potential. In Essential Labor, Garbes builds on the ideas she presented in her viral essay, exploring our assumptions about care, deservedness, and equity. Care and Leading is a deep dive into what mothering in America is, and can be, amidst all the fear and possibility of the moment. Using her family's journey as care workers from the Philippines as a lens, she places mothering in a global context of care--the invisible economic engine that has been historically devalued and demanded of women of color. Garbes contends that the labor of raising thriving children offers us the ability to create a more equitable society. In Essential Labor Garbes reframes the everyday tasks that feel laborious as opportunities to teach children progressive and inclusive ways of valuing themselves and others. Social change begins in our homes. Just as Like a Mother provided a new context for understanding pregnancy, Essential Labor will give readers a thought-provoking, hopeful, and urgent consideration of the work of mothering.

Mothering As Social Change

Essential Labor

From the acclaimed author of Like a Mother comes a reflection on the state of caregiving in America, and an exploration of mothering as a means of social change. The Covid-19 pandemic shed fresh light on a long-overlooked truth: mothering is among the only essential work humans do. In response to the increasing weight placed on mothers and caregivers—and the lack of a social safety net to support them—writer Angela Garbes found herself pondering a vital question: How, under our current circumstances that leave us lonely, exhausted, and financially strained, might we demand more from American family life? In Essential Labor, Garbes explores assumptions about care, work, and deservedness, offering a deeply personal and rigorously reported look at what mothering is, and can be. A first-generation Filipino-American, Garbes shares the perspective of her family's complicated relationship to care work, placing mothering in a global context—the invisible economic engine that has been historically demanded of women of color. Garbes contends that while the labor of raising children is devalued in America, the act of mothering offers the radical potential to create a more equitable society. In Essential Labor, Garbes reframes the physically and mentally draining work of meeting a child's bodily and emotional needs as opportunities to find meaning, to nurture a deeper sense of self, pleasure, and belonging. This is highly skilled labor, work that impacts society at its most foundational level. Part galvanizing manifesto, part poignant narrative, Essential Labor is a beautifully rendered reflection on care that reminds us of the irrefutable power and beauty of mothering.

Angela Garbes

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