http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-613661.mp3
Albany, NY – When Trisha Ashworth had her first child seven years ago, she was in for a shock. The advertising exec quit her job and hunkered down with her kids - only to find her days filled with challenges she never saw coming. Ashworth ended up spending almost every afternoon on the phone with her friend Amy Nobile, a public relations guru who had kids of similar ages. They ended up turning their venting sessions into a book called I was a really good mom before I had kids. For the book, they interviewed other moms and came up with some tips for managing that job that's supposed to be fulfilling - but can end up immensely draining.
For their book, Ashworth and Nobile spoke with more than one hundred moms about the challenges of raising kids. I wanted to include some mom voices on today's show, and so I turned to another radio producer. Her name is Nanci Oleson, and she puts together a short radio show called MOMbo - that's spelled M_O-M-B-O, of course. Oleson brought moms into her studio to discuss their daily balancing act...let's take a listen to her program.
There are all kind of pressures on mothers. And sometimes, it's too much to handle. Next on the show, we have a piece from a daughter's point of view - as she seeks to understand why her mother had to give her up to foster care. As a ward of the state, Shantaye Wonzer has lived in 17 places in the last 14 years. She's been removed from her mother's care twice. Now a senior in high school, she feels ready to have an adult conversation with her biological mother. What exactly was her mother doing and thinking while Shantaye was bouncing from group home to her grandmother's house and back again? Shantaye doesn't place blame in this interview. Instead, she tries to patch together a timeline that follows a family in chaos. This piece splits screens, so that we see both the daughter as she packs her clothes into a garbage bag once more, and the mother as she races home at 3AM, promising to be done with drugging and drinking, and praying, "Let them be there."