Choice Moms book reviews

Here's what some of the critics are saying about the original resource for Choice Moms, "Choosing Single Motherhood: The Thinking Woman's Guide"

From Feminist Review (Jonelle Seitz):
Morrissette really knows what she's talking about - as a single woman (she later married), she had two children as a result of donor insemination - and she includes some compelling some real-life stories from other Choice Moms and their offspring. While the information and anecdotes within are generally optimistic, Morrissette cautions the reader that single parenthood is not right for everyone (for example, those without resources for full-time childcare need not apply), that Choice Moms have to work to maintain good male role models in their children's lives, that children eventually ask difficult questions, and that Choice Moms and donors or birth parents occasionally have conflicting ideas who is part of the family and how.

Despite much demographic-specific content, a lot of the financial and parenting information, in addition to the discussions of how to combat our culture's bias against single mothers, is so practical that I wish this book wasn't limited to its 35- to 45-year-old, wealthy target reader. Lots of teenage mothers, divorced mothers, reluctant soccer moms, and other mothers who perhaps didn't exactly "choose" motherhood from the get-go could probably use an empowering book like this, too.

From Library Journal
Verdict: Morrissette has coined the phrase "Choice Mom" to describe the subject of her book: "someone who proactively seeks to become a nurturing mother on her own." This is an essential purchase for all urban public libraries; recommended to all others.
Background: Morrissette, a single mother of two, estimates that roughly 50,000 partnerless women above the age of 30 give birth every year, and many more consider the option. Here, she initially discusses the concerns that women may have about embarking on parenting-e.g., finances, community acceptance, impact on the child. She presents the results of surveys and other data when it is available but urges each reader to define her own needs. The second section explores the avenues to motherhood-insemination by known or unknown donor and adoption-and describes the legal and emotional pitfalls for all concerned parties (woman, child, and donor). Finally, a section on child rearing will be useful to current as well as prospective Choice Moms; it covers issues such as coping with stress, answering the "daddy questions," and helping teens deal with special identity issues.-Mary Ann Hughes, Neill P.L., Pullman, WA