Abandoners

One of NPR's "e;Books We Love"e; in 2024An incisive collection about motherhood and creative life through the lens of mothersin history, literature, and pop culturewho have abandoned their children.What kind of mother abandons her child? During the pandemic, trapped at home with young children and struggling to find creative space to write, journalist Begoa Gmez Urzaiz became fixated on artistic women who overcame both societys condemnation and their own maternal guilt to leave their childrenat will or due to economic or other circumstances.The Abandoners is sharp, at times slyly humorous, and always deeply empathetic. Using famous examples such as Ingrid Bergman, Muriel Spark, Doris Lessing, and Maria Montessori as well as fictional ones like Anna Karenina and the many roles of Meryl Streep, and interrogating modern trends like momfluencers, Gmez Urzaiz reveals what our judgement of these women tells us about our judgement of all women.