Generations: A Century of Women Speak about Their Lives

“This is the first book to show the sweeping change among American women in this century, and to do so in an irresistible, intimate, and popular way. ” —Gloria Steinem

The women in this landmark work of oral history are from diverse ethnic, geographic, and social backgrounds, and they tell stories about all aspects of their lives, from their professional and romantic experiences to sex discrimination and their own realized or unrealized aspirations.

As in the best oral history, the stories these women candidly tell are vivid and often poignantly detailed. We hear accounts of rural, chore-filled childhoods at the beginning of the century, of contemporary teens without curfews, of dates that began with a chat with father in the parlor, of the sexual liberation of the 1960s, of women who worked in factories during World War II, of those who were pioneers in their professions, and of women who today struggle heroically to balance the demands of marriage or single mothering, work, and children.

Sweeping in scope, and yet rooted in the details, emotions, and dilemmas of everyday life, the journey women have traveled over the century here becomes all the more dramatic, the transformation they have undergone all the more remarkable. Generations is a celebration of this transformation in all its complexity, an embracing and vibrant family scrapbook that belongs to all American women.

“Generations tells us both how far we have come and how far we have yet to go. ” —Ruth Sidel, author of Unsung Heroines: Single Mothers and the American Dream

© 2013 Atlantic Monthly Press (Ebook): 9780802192783

Release date

Ebook: 3 September 2013