Mari Gallion Tell A Friend About Us:

  A Single Woman's Guide to a Happy Pregnancy
By Dawn G. Prince

M any women find themselves pregnant and alone, either by choice or because a partner wants nothing to do with the pregnancy. And for a lot of women, it's time of anxiety, uncertainty and a million questions but nowhere to turn for advice and support. Going the untraditional route has a lot of implications and the critics can be harsh. But Mari Gallion has written the book, A Single Woman's Guide to a Happy Pregnancy, on how to keep it together financially, emotionally and spiritually, and rise above the negative connotations of being single and pregnant.

In 1998, faced with a pregnancy where the father wanted nothing to do with it, Gallion decided to have the baby. Living in smalltown Alaska, everyday she faced the negative attitudes of people who disapproved of an unwed and pregnant young woman. Fed up with the negative stereotypes and the stigma, Gallion offers up her own personal experience on how to do everything - from sorting finances to what to expected after the birth. This thorough guide is Pregnancy 101 for the single mother who usually has no experience with being pregnant, or any idea what is ahead of her decision to go it alone. A Single Woman's Guide... is written in a straightforward, tell-it-as-a friend- tone and it reads like a friend passing on all the research she'd done on the subject. And Gallion's research is considerable, down to how to prepare for the courts.

The book covers subjects such as finances, childbirth classes, child support and dealing with baby fathers, continuing your career, what to buy, and even how not to settle for just any partner just because you find yourself alone. More so, it offers positive ways to live the best life you can. There is even a section entitled "Life Starts Now! Groom Yourself for Greatness." What this book is not about is morning sickness or soft, gushy advice. It is practical advice about getting through the rough patches with grace and dignity and being the best parent that you can despite the long, hard road ahead.

Using antidotes from her life, Gallion challenges society's view of the "traditional pregnancy" and urges single, pregnant women to believe that they are better than the "crap" image of single mothers as either promiscuous, on welfare or what you get on the talk shows. She offers advice on how to do what to do once you've made the decision - it's about choices: good choices on what's best for your child, how to be a good parent while being mommy and daddy, and how to hold your head up high while doing it.

Gallion dismisses the old theory that children need a father figure to be well-adjusted. She believes that women can do just as well by themselves without a man. At times the tone tends to shout feminism, but considering the subject, it may be that Gallion is just fiercely trying to squash antiquated ideas regarding motherhood and what's expected of women while protecting her right to choose the single route.

While it is written from a strongly feminist perspective, A Single Woman's Guide to a Happy Pregnancy prepares and empowers women while offering useful advice for any woman who finds herself going through pregnancy alone or even thinking about it. It's Gallion's personal recipe for happiness.

Visit Gallion at SinglePregancy.com

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Quick Chat With Mari Gallion:

Surewoman: Why did you write this book?

I wrote this book because I believe that single pregnant women who plan to be parents deserve answers to their most common questions without any judgment, condescension, and manipulation. We can create happier mothers and a healthier society with an atmosphere of acceptance, empowerment, honesty, and unconditional love for our fellow human beings, especially those who are tending to the future generation

Written from a feminist perspective, what is the message?

My reasons for educating my audience about feminism are too numerous to mention, but in a nutshell, empowered women make better parents, friends, girlfriends/wives, and members of our community. Our prevailing culture lends itself to the erroneous belief that single women are inadequate, deficient, and substandard, and it is harmful for any person to believe this about herself, especially if she plans to raise a happy child and reach her own personal education, career, and personal fulfillment goals. In response, I use facts to sweep out all that outdated self-undermining thinking and tell my readers the truth about themselves: that they do indeed have the power, the right, and the ability to be effective parents. and happy people.

Copyright ©2006 Sure Woman.com/Copyright ©2006 Dawn Prince

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