Check out this list of books, articles and websites that inspired our work.
The hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbel
The hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell is a common template of a broad category of tales that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, and in a decisive crisis wins a victory, and then comes home changed or transformed. We believe that motherhood is no less than and adventurous journey and we are working on developing a “Mother’s journey” pattern.
In his book, “The Hero With A Thousand Faces”Joseph Campbell presents the stages of the pattern in great myths of all humanity (“the monomyth”) and of the unconscious in dreams (from analytical therapy). Heroes in myths are often in male form, but we can easily collect female heroines from books and folk tales, only looking at the most well-knowns:
Mother Holle
Thumbelina
Cinderella
Wizard of Oz
Alice in Wonderland
The gifts of motherhood
Katherine Ellison, Mommy Brain, Perseus Book, 2011
Journalist Katherine Ellison draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to demonstrate that, contrary to long-established wisdom that having children dumbs you down, raising children may make moms smarter. From enhanced senses in pregnancy and early motherhood to the alertness and memory skills necessary to manage like a pro, to a greater aptitude for risk-taking and a talent for empathy and negotiation, these advantages not only help mothers in raising their children, but in their work and social lives as well.
M. N. Rudeman, P. J. Ohlott, K. Pauser, S. N. King, Benefit of multiple roles for managerial woman, “The Accademy of Management Journal”, 2002
This article examine the relationships between female managers’ multiple life roles and their psychological well-being and managerial skills. Results revealed that the managerial women felt participating in non-work roles contributed important resources to their managerial role performance.
Andrea Vitullo, Riccarda Zezza, Maam, la maternità è un master che rende più forti uomini e donne, Bur, 2014
In an essay that revolutionizes our paradigms on the relationship between motherhood and work, Andrea Vitullo and Riccarda Zezza – founders of the project Maam, Maternity as a Master – propose an innovative path of change in which parental skills become the basis for building leadership practises: from relational skills to listening, from quick decision making to Handling difficulties, the authors show how to start from motherhood to deeply rethink the way we organize our work, breaking down the obstaclesnthat currently restrict people’s growth and training leaders capable of dealing with challenges with competence and creativity.
http://maternityasamaster.com/
Neuroscience
C. H. Kinsley, K. G. Lambert, The maternal brain, “Scientific American”, 2006
Pregnancy and motherhood change the structure of the female mammal's brain, making mothers attentive to their young and better at caring for them.
Shelley E. Taylor, The tending instinct: How nurturing is essential to who we are and how we live, Time Books, New York, 2000
Under stress, females are more likely to hunker down, care for their offspring, and turn to other females for social support, rather than to fight or flee. Fight or flight makes little sense for a female. Females face a different set of challenges. If there is stress, whether a predator, environmental crisis, or obnoxious males, why should a mother try to fight – she is unlikely to win against any male, due to size differences – or flee, abandoning her babies? It makes more sense for such a female to lie low, take care of her offspring, and turn to her social network - other females, often kin - for help and defense.
Aparna Iyer, How Your Brain Changes When You Become A Mom, www.mindbodygreen.com, 2018
This article briefly explores the neurological changes that the “Mommy brain”lists a fel suggestions for optimizing mental health and easing the transition into motherhood.
female leadership
Sumru Erkut, Inside Women’s Power: learning from leaders, Wellesley Centers for Woman, 2001
Sumru Erkut, Leadership: What’s Maternity has to do with it?, Wellesley Centers for Woman, 2006
Moe Grzelakowski, Mothers lead best, Kaplan Business, 2005
Moe Grzelakowski has interviewed 50 highly effective leaders who are also mothers and has turned their stories and ideas into a guidebook for using the skills of motherhood to transform good leaders into great ones. Mother Leads Bestfocuses on the impact that raising children has on a leader's values, and how the empathy and compassion of motherhood can impact an organization in positive ways. The author offers suggestions and exercises that can help readers assess and develop similar leadership traits.
Ann Crittenden, If you’ve raised your kids, you can manage anything, Gotham Books, New york, 2004
Based on interviews with 100 parents (mostly women) who were the primary caregivers in their family, Crittenden illustrates how being a parent helps someone be a more creative, if sometimes unconventional, manager.
Luisa Pogliana, Le donne il management la differenza, un altro modo di governare le aziende, Guerini e associati, Milano 2012
Insieme alle socie Isabella Covili, Anna Deambrosis, Patrizia Di Pietro, Giuseppina Grimaldi, è andata ad ascoltare le esperienze, i successi e i gli inciampi di chi sta in posizione di vertice di aziende grandi o piccole, multinazionali o italiane, tirando fuori uno spaccato di vita non semplice ma di grande consapevolezza e di voglia di scommettere sul cambiamento delle organizzazioni del lavoro.
permaculture
Looby Macnamara, People & Permaculture: Caring and Designing for Ourselves, Each Other and the Planet, Permanent pubblications, 2012
People and Permaculture is the first book to directly explore the ways in which we can use permaculture principles and design to enhance our well-being, relationships and society.
Looby Macnamara, 7 ways to think differently, Permanent pubblications, 2014
7 Ways to Think Differently explores ways to address personal, social and environmental concerns in simple practical steps in our daily lives, helping us to make incremental, achievable changes.