What if Much of What We Believe a "Good Mom" Does is Completely Wrong?
Nancy Reddy, author of "The Good Mother Myth," breaks down our bad ideas about motherhood and exposes the misogynist social science behind them
Nancy Reddy is the author of the fascinating new book The Good Mother Myth, which takes on many sacred cows of modern motherhood and dissects the misogynist and sloppy social science that undergirds so much of what women today believe they have to do to be a good mother. Reddy discovered that some of the advice isn’t just misguided—it’s harmful to both mothers and children.
Reddy’s previous books include the poetry collections Pocket Universe and Double Jinx, a winner of the National Poetry Series. With Emily Pérez, she’s co-editor of The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood. Her essays have appeared in Slate, Poets & Writers, Romper, The Millions, and elsewhere. She writes the newsletter Write More, Be Less Careful. You can find her on Instagram at nancy.o.reddy or Substack at
.I hope you enjoy the following Q&A about some of the key findings in her book.