The new uprooted: single mothers in urban life

Abstract

The New Uprooted: Single Mothers in Urban Life. Elizabeth Mulroy. Westport, CT: Auburn House. 1995. 206 pp. Softcover, ISBN 086569-039-1. $16.95. Half of all of children growing up today will spend part of their childhood in a single-parent family, most of them with a single mother, and nearly half of the children now living with single mothers are poor. Because the federal welfare entitlement for poor single mothers and their children are now ended, poverty among children living with a single parent is likely to increase over the next decade. Given these facts, the mandate for more books focused on the economic problems of single mothers is clear. In The New Uprooted: Single Mothers and Urban Life, Elizabeth Mulroy claims that the public understands little about who single mothers are, how they become single mothers, and the consequences this status has for them and their children. We agree. Because of the current political climate, we welcome Mulroy's matter-of-fact approach to this new family constellation and her advocacy stance. Emphasizing a holistic approach, Mulroy does not limit her focus to politically charged issues such as welfare dependence among single mothers (which she mentions only peripherally), but draws attention to the broad array of factors that limit and jeopardize the economic security of mother-only families. The book does not, however, satisfactorily answer the questions it raises. Solo mothering is so commonly associated with economic disadvantage. Why, then, is it a growing phenomenon? Mulroy argues that domestic violence (and women's increasing willingness and ability to end violent relationships) is part of the answer, and we agree. However, we suspect that this is only one of many factors. As qualitative researchers, we think that one of the best ways to identify those factors is to spend a lot of time talking with single mothers. Mulroy's study does include qualitative interviews with 73 single mothers in New England, as well as interviews with officials of local, state, and federal social services and housing services. She uses several women's stories to exemplify what she identifies as single mothers' three most basic needs (personal safety, affordable housing, and employment that pays a living wage). But anecdotes do not substitute for systematic analysis, and she offers little of the latter in presenting her qualitative data. Mulroy amply shows that single mothers are a diverse group, and she compellingly presents the factors associated with their economic and social vulnerability. …