Introduction

Think back for a moment… Do you remember how you learned about sex, drugs, boys, and life in general? This question was posed to women from the baby boomers age, and the “X” and “Y” generations. The number one response was they learned most of their information from their “girlfriends”. The number two response was “the media.” Now, don’t get me wrong, some did learn about sex, drugs, boys, and other things from their mothers or other significant family members. Overall, it seems that there are current relevant topics (sex, teen pregnancy, drugs, relationships to name a few that some mothers have failed to address with their daughters. Talking to our daughters about sensitive issues can be an ordeal that is dreaded by many moms. Is it that mothers are too embarrassed to speak on these subjects? Are they uninformed? Or maybe they just don’t know what to say or how to say it. Some mothers touch on it where others would rather avoid the entire matter altogether. The remaining mothers have resigned to allowing their daughters to figure out life on their own. Whether mothers want to talk about it or not, it needs to be said. “The Talk” between a mother and daughter is a rites of passage ceremony that will allow our young women to travel with some degree of confidence and knowledge through the matrix of life. As women, it is our responsibility to ensure that our children are properly prepared with the life skills they will need for day-to-day living in this society. We must address their social emotional, spiritual, physical, and financial well-being. Bullying, dating, violence, and sexting are some of the social ills that are consuming our youth, schools and communities. These concerns are proof that we as a society must intervene by providing open discussions, preventive measures and resources for support so “our daughters” will become positive, contributing productive citizens and future parents. The bond between mothers and daughters can and should be a stepping-stone and turning point in building and shaping relationships that will have a lasting impact on their life experiences and relationships. In many kitchens across the globe, mothers may have witnessed their young children trying to touch the fire on the stove. We were immediately told that the fire was hot and if we touched it, we were going to get burned. It would be a good bet that quite a few of us at some point touched the fire on the stove anyway. We did not heed the warning, and we got burned. It doesn’t matter how many times someone tells us how deep the water is, we may feel that person doesn’t know what they are talking about, and we then make a conscious decision not to listen. Sometimes, we just have to find out the hard way and personally discover that “Fat meat really is greasy.” It is a monumental victory if we can learn from others’ mistakes without having to test the actual waters ourselves. Unfortunately, things do not always work out that way. I want to make this very clear. This book was not intended to discredit or condemn the mothers who made monumental sacrifices, worked effortlessly and served the role of both mother and father to their daughters and/or sons. Motherhood is one job that cannot be perfected. It’s one of the most challenging and toughest jobs in the world. The voices of these women came from all walks of life, ethnic backgrounds, varied religious practices and age groups. The stories are from actual life experiences and events. Names have been changed to protect their identities. If you should recognize a character or narrative that is familiar, please note that any similarity or resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.