Lessons From My Mother's Life: Post World War II Short Fiction

“Great short stories that really do speak to what women had to face mid 20th century.” *How happy was the 1950s happy housewife?* Women in post-war America were supposed to have it all: generous husbands with great jobs, comfortable suburban homes with nice yards and two-car garages, and all the latest gadgets to make their housework easier. The pain and horror of World War II were over. The economy was booming, and America was becoming a world leader. American women were to play a role in America’s prosperity, the role they were always meant to play: supporting mothers, wives, and daughters. Theirs was a life of ease. They were the fairytale princesses with the happy ending. The women’s magazines told them so. The advertisements for laundry detergent and TV dinners told them so. The doctors who treated their children’s colds told them so. Women in 1950s America were sold a bill of goods about their purpose in life and their futures. Some bought it and some didn’t. This book is about the women who didn’t. These are not nostalgic stories about my mother’s life or your mother’s life. They dig deep into the lives of five fictional characters who knew in the back of their minds that their lives weren’t happy and they wanted something more. Five stories. Five women. Five roads that will lead to self-identity and fulfillment.