One and only : why having an only child, and being one, is better than you think

Description

A humorous, tough-minded, and honest case for being and having an only child . Journalist Lauren Sandler is an only child and the mother of one. After investigating what only children are really like and whether stopping at one child is an answer to reconciling motherhood and modernity, she learned a lot about herself--and a lot about our culture's assumptions. She brings a passion and a laser-sharp intelligence to the subject that cuts through the anxiety, doubt, misinformation, and judgment about what it means to be an only child and what it means to have one. In this heartfelt work, Sandler legitimizes a conversation about the larger societal costs of having more than one. If parents no longer felt they had to have second children to keep from royally screwing up their first, would the majority of them still do it? And if the literature tells us that a child isn't better off with a sibling than without one, and it's not something parents truly want for themselves, then whom is this choice serving? One and Only examines these questions, exploring what the rise of the single-child family means for our economies, our environment, and our freedom. Through this journey, Sandler has quite possibly cracked the code of happiness, demonstrating that having just one may be the way to resolve our countless struggles with adulthood in the modern age.  Read more... Abstract: A prominent journalist makes a funny, tough-minded, and honest case for being and having an only child.  Read more... Content: The unteachable eagle -- Rhymes with only -- Good for nothing -- Standing out from the swells -- Where someone loves you best of all -- Save yourself -- Home economics -- The fruitful mandate -- Tea leaves -- Conclusion against folly.