There are as many descriptions of motherhood as there are experiences of it. This makes the whole notion of motherhood a very illusive term. It is a term that is impossible to be taken impersonally. We immediately add our own conceptions, good or bad, to the word. Motherhood can conjure up an image of a tyrant with an iron will, a warm bosom to lean on, a complex enigma that was never unravelled. We might neglect to investigate what motherhood has meant or means to us, but the whole notion of motherhood comes back to haunt us, whether we want it to or not. It’s as impossible to ignore as it is fascinating to explore. With that in mind, Mary Miller and her daughter Teresa Miller Archer thought it might be helpful and useful to have various women tell their own mother and daughter stories. The stories will identify various notions of motherhood for these ladies, from the perspective of being a daughter or from the experience of being a mother. What does or did that look like? How have their perspectives remained the same or changed through the years?
The editors hope is that the reader can glean out of these stories what they will. Perhaps picking up clues that will help mothers and daughters in their own relationships.