"What shall we do about our mothers?"

Millions of adult daughters ask one another this question as their mothers age, show signs of wearing down, fight illnesses and loneliness, and sometimes outlive their savings. Caught between caring for their mothers and responsibilities to children, jobs, and other family members, women in midlife are affected by guilt, anger, and anxiety as they struggle to be good daughters.

Journalist-and daughter-Patricia Beard concludes, "We are not just asking ourselves where our mothers should live, or whether they should have a knee replacement. I think we want to know what we can do about the way we feel about our mothers. How can we make our peace with the mothers we have, instead of longing for the mothers we wish we had? What does it mean to be a good daughter to an aging mother now? Why is it so hard? How can we do better? And how can we prepare ourselves for a future when we will never again be able to dial our mothers on the phone and hear their voices?"

Good Daughters explores the changes in the culture that put added pressure on women in midlife, the innate push and pull of the mother-daughter relationship that sets up tension at any age, the reality of being old in our society, and the new role daughters formulate as their mothers grow older. In stories gathered from hundreds of interviews with women whose relationships with their mothers range from nearly perfect to troubled, Good Daughters is clearheaded and openhearted about the practical and emotional problems mothers and daughters face.

Written in a lyrical voice, with humor, understanding, and empathy for both generations, this book is both sensible and inspirational. Good Daughters shows how even when a mother's aging is difficult, the last phase can provide opportunities to enrich relationships, and that mothers and daughters can face change and loss with courage and compassion.