Every woman who has children has a unique perspective on how to raise them. In My Motherf$%ing Parenting Manifesto*, author Topaz Star has her say on this, and several other subjects.
Star is mixed-race and grew up among the Virgin Islands. At 29, she’s a mother of four boys, all of whom she has homeschooled. She believes in a mix of Waldorf education and liberal spankings, dismissing theories about corporal punishment as unrealistic and largely “white.” However, one of her main arguments favors pulling together the best of black and white parenting styles to offer kids clear boundaries along with more personal freedom.
Star offers few specifics, just her own experiences, making this more a memoir than a manifesto, but she derides parents whose elitism blinds them to the reality of others; you won’t find her looking down her nose if you feed your kid a TV dinner. Despite the title, her spiritual path is only vaguely defined here, including an experience called a “Kundalini Burn” and a mix of Christian, New Age, and Island thinking.
Star takes side trips into medical marijuana use, politics, and infidelity, all of which are hard to follow and tie back to parenting. Throughout, she occasionally lands a spot-on one liner: “My first son was born via C-section, because the doctor must have had a dinner date.”
Overall, the book is profane and disorganized, but some genuinely good ideas shine through. While it’s not quite the parenting manual nor the guide to faith it sets out to be, My Motherf$%ing Parenting Manifesto* manages to be raunchy, funny, and thought-provoking. Twenty-nine is perhaps a bit young to be offering parenting advice; should the author continue to refine her craft and observe her kids, it will be fascinating to see how her perspective shifts in the years to come.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.
