What about young single moms?
“Genie and I could help our children out. What about people with less family structure, less money, less options? What about young single moms? The fact they can’t get the same level of support my children did is a national disgrace. It is doubly disgusting that support is not there since it is ‘traditionalists’ and self-proclaimed “conservatives” who have led the charge against extending family friendly help to others. They don’t really want to help a woman “keep your baby!” as the anti-choice protesters scream at the traumatized women seeking abortions. If conservatives did want people to have a child, America and not Iceland would lead the world in family-nurturing social programs that (for instance) keep pregnant high school students in school and supported and helped with parenthood, a place to live, and income. It would be American conservatives leading the charge for parents having interchangeable roles about who stays home, and getting government help to do so. There would be real choices for anyone with a child or wanting to have one or not have one to become a single parent, married, pair-bonded, pregnant, or not. Until that happens, those on the “pro-family” right should just shut the fuck up, die of shame or, best of all, change their minds and join the fight for social justice and the joy of parenthood. But America is falling so far short of helping women start families that the number-one way, statistically speaking, to descend into poverty for a young American woman is to have a child with no partner. That is just the shameful truth. And it’s beautiful that Jessica and Becky met such supportive partners so young, but in our careers-first culture, that’s not the case for most young women. We don’t have a society like Iceland that promotes or supports young women in any way. Then demographers lament declining birth rates as if we were unaware that women have zero help.”
A pre-order purchase of the paperback right now really will help the book far more than buying it later. And if you decide to give away copies of my book as gifts to family and friends or to those you work with - say to everyone you know :) - please pre-order those extra copies today. This is when you can really help out most. In today's nutty book world pre-orders are "where it's at."
Fall in Love, Have Children, Stay Put, Save the Planet, Be Happy
is Available for Pre-Order Now.
To be published November 2 by HCI Books • Distributed by Simon & Schuster
