Family Room: Book & Magazine Reviews

Brain, Child

The Magazine for Thinking Mothers

The latest issue of this intriguing, hard-to-classify publication includes a short story by Jane Smiley (A Thousand Acres). The premier issue featured an essay by Barbara Kingsolver (The Poisonwood Bible). It's an impressive line-up for a new magazine published outside the glossy world of Condé Nast and The Hearst Corporation. A magazine for parents with a literary heart, Brain, Child is loaded with essays, fiction, humor and reviews from writers, well known and otherwise, with something big to say.

My favorite to date? A deeply insightful and humorous essay about the “mother-brain,” described by author Leanna James as “a parallel mind that lives alongside the original.” The mother-brain informed her what to do to soothe, comfort and nurture her infant, and yet is the same brain that cannot manage to chat to colleagues or keep track of time. That's OK with James. Her other brain “revels in the powers of language and logic” and she's learning how to live with two minds. Delightful!

The editors of Brain, Child have taken some criticism for the magazine's subtitle. “All mothers think.” They respond. “They have to to get through the day. We wanted to demonstrate to the world that there's more to being a mother than soft-focus diaper rash commercial or articles about dropping the last five pounds' make you think.”

This beautifully designed and thoughtfully edited magazine is indeed a treat for thinking mothers...and fathers, too.

--AJL

Published quarterly. For subscription information, visit their web site at www.brainchildmag.com or write to: Brain, Child, P.O. Box 714, Lexington, VA 24450.