Update: We are happy to report that after many years of being estranged, they have reconciled. Below are two articles about the complicated relationship between Alice Walker and her daughter, Rebecca. How My Mother’s Fanatical Views Tore Us Apart By Rebecca Walker, Daily Mail Online She’s revered as a trail-blazing feminist and, author, Alice Walker…
First Look: Why Drew Barrymore Didn’t Invite Her Mother to Her Wedding In 2012, Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman were married in their backyard, surrounded by family and friends. One family member not in attendance, however, was Drew’s mother, Jaid. Watch as Drew explains her decision not to invite her mother and what it was…
Melissa Gilbert’s Complicated ‘Prairie’ Life The actress opens about her difficult childhood, addictions and more. TODAY Actress Melissa Gilbert of “Little House on the Prairie” was America’s sweetheart and many presumed she enjoyed a blessed childhood. But in reality, the talented star’s home life was a far cry from the idyllic life she portrayed in…
Healing Difficult Mother-Daughter Relationships
By P. Hunter, O, The Oprah Magazine It’s usually about nurturing her child—not swilling vodka, hitting on her daughter’s boyfriends, and setting her up with frat boys by stranding her at the bar. A daughter relives her stormy relationship with her mother and the way she finally found the calm within it. Lots of daughters…
By Madison Hill The New Year is notorious for bringing cold weather conditions. I usually just grit my teeth and bear the cold with a few (million) complaints here and there. For mom, however, the cold presents some serious chilly-challenges. This winter, I’ve found that with a little bit of proper preparation, I can conquer…
TODAY In her new book, “Do I Look Fat in This?,” Jessica Weiner says moms who fixate on dieting can influence their daughters’ behavior. There’s no denying that mothers and daughters have always shared a special bond with each other. Mothers have a powerful influence on their daughters that can be positive — or, sometimes,…
P. Jefferson Mothers, daughters and body image – it’s an emotional and sometimes volatile mix. Our parents’ attitudes about eating and how we should look weave their way into our childhood and continue to affect us well into adulthood. A seemingly harmless word here or there from our mother can have an emotional charge whether…
By Suzanne Koven, M.D., Psychology Today Mother and daughter communicate in the language of fat. My patient–I’ll call her Amy–was heavy. Her mother, Sybil, also my patient, was thin. At Amy’s visits to my office we always discussed her weight. At Sybil’s visits Amy’s weight also came up frequently. “Doctor, can’t you make her lose?”…
By Peggy Orenstein, www.nytimes.com Food is never just food. Food is love. Food is solace. It is politics. It is religion. And if that’s not enough to heap on your dinner plate each night, food is also, especially for mothers, the instant-read measure of our parenting. We are not only what we eat, we are…