Mothers in the 21st century confront us, both in clinical practice and in theory, with fascinating challenges that to some extent subvert the traditional maternal ideal: the motherhood of single women, motherhood in which the mother-child relationship seems minimal (in the case of very busy working mothers), teenage motherhood in which there is no true awareness of the maternal function, motherhood in couples of homosexual women, men who take upon themselves the maternal function (men-mothers), complex motherhood by virtue of the multiple variants that have nowadays become possible thanks to new reproductive techniques, shared motherhood, surrogate motherhood, sublimated motherhood, perverse motherhood."'Motherhood in the Twenty-first Century' is a remarkable collection of essays whose contributors, invited by the editor, Alcira Mariam Alizade, from many different countries, each explore different dimensions of motherhood today, which, as the editor emphasizes, 'cannot escape the impact of social and cultural transformations.' Moreover, Alizade underlines the importance of recognizing that woman's psychic organization is independent of its maternal function thus implying a necessary dissociation of femininity from motherhood. The essays cover divergent themes ranging from new methods of conception and 'artificial pregnancy' to questions raised by the mother-daughter relationship and the many reasons for desiring, or not desiring, a child. The editor expresses the wish that this book will open onto new perspectives regarding motherhood and provide a thought-provoking instrument for all psychoanalysts. To this wish I would add that her book will also stimulate reflection in all women from whatever walk of life." - Joyce McDougall, D.Ed.

Supervisory and Training Analyst to the Paris Psychoanalytical Society and Institute.