Promises I can keep : why poor women put motherhood before marriage / Kathryn Edin + Maria Kefalas.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-285) and index.

"Before we had a baby ..." -- "When I got pregnant ..." -- How does the dream die? -- What marriage means -- Labor of love -- How motherhood changed my life -- Making sense of single motherhood.

"Over a span of five years, sociologists Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas talked in-depth with 162 low-income single moms to learn how they think about marriage and family. Promises I Can Keep offers an intimate look at what marriage and motherhood mean to these women and provides the most extensive on-the-ground study to date of why they put children before marriage despite the daunting challenges they know lie ahead." "Edin and Kefalas show that poor women do not reject marriage; on the contrary, they revere it. But marriage is an elusive goal, and many poor women believe they have little to lose by bearing children at a young age. Ultimately, it is the high value they place on children, combined with the fear that an enduring marriage is beyond their grasp, that leads women to pursue motherhood before marriage." "Promises I Can Keep argues that until poor young women and men have greater access to jobs that lead to financial security - that is, until they can hope for a rewarding life outside of bearing and raising children - they will continue to have children far sooner than most Americans think they should, and in less than ideal circumstances. As pressing policy issues and the larger public debate about the decline of "family values" intensify, this book provides an original and nuanced understanding of single parenting and the poor."--BOOK JACKET.

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