FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | ONLINE VIA ZOOM | REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Featuring
Judith R. Smith, PhD, LCSW
Associate Professor, Fordham University
with
Manoj Pardasani, PhD, LCSW
Dean and Professor, Adelphi University School of Social Work
In a new book Difficult: Mothering Challenging Adult Children through Conflict and Change (Rowman and Littlefield, 2022), Dr. Smith (bio) uses detailed case studies and social science research to illustrate the strain that occurs when older women unexpectedly have to resume their parenting career and re-open their homes to their adult children. Smith, a PhD alum of the Columbia School of Social Work, coined the term “difficult adult child” after listening to 50 U.S. women share stories of how their adult child’s chronic unemployment, mental illness, or substance use created difficult or impossible choices for them as mothers.
In conversation with Dr. Pardasani (bio), Smith will discuss the underfunded mental health system, the limits of the American welfare state, and how deeply women have internalized the mandate to be a “good mother” till the end. They will also reflect on the family situation of Chinese and Asian Indian older women who uproot themselves to come to the U.S. to provide childcare for their grandchildren so that their adult children can pursue their dreams and succeed in America.
For more details, please see the registration page.