Aunting

Whether related by biology, marriage, circumstance, or choice, aunts embody a uniquely flexible familial role. The aunt-niece/nephew relationship - though often overlooked - is critical and complex, one that appears at the core of a resilient, healthy family life. In this engaging book, Laura Ellingson and Patricia Sotirin construct a consideration of aunts that moves from noun to verb; Aunts is more than a group of people or a role; instead, to aunt is a practice, something people do. Some women as second mothers, friends, or mentors, while others play more peripheral roles. In either case, aunts nonetheless significantly impact their nieces and nephews; life choices. Drawing on personal narratives that represent a rich cross section of society, Ellingson and Sotirin construct a cohesive story of the diversity of aunting experiences in the contemporary United States. Skilfully written, Aunting recovers the enormous potential of this dynamic kinship relationship and offers a model for understanding and supporting the variety of families in society today.

ISBN 1602581525   Pages 223 ISBN13 9781602581524 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 553 Publisher Baylor University Press   Published in Waco Imprint Baylor University Press   Height (mm) 230 Format Hardback   Width (mm) 155 Publication date 15 Aug 2010   Spine width (mm) 25 DEWEY 306.87   Academic level General DEWEY edition DC22

		Preface
		Introduction: Why Aunts?		1
1		Caring for Kin		15
2		Constructing Kin		39
3		Aunts at a Distance		65
4		My Auntie, My Self		97
5		Mentoring and Modeling		125
6		Carrying on the Family		149
		Conclusion: Aunting in the 21st Century		169
		Appendix: Methodology		179
		Notes		185
		References		201
		Index		219

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