Book Details:
Book Title: Bound: A Daughter, a Domme, and an End-of-Life Story by Elizabeth Anne Wood
Category: Adult non-fiction 18 yrs +, 296 pages
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: She Writes Press.
Release date: August 2019
Content Rating: PG-13 + M. In addition to its primary focus on confronting terminal illness in the context of a complex mother-daughter relationship, this book addresses mature themes of sexuality (specifically BDSM), death, and illness. Conversations about sexuality are related, sex toys and body parts are mentioned by name, but there are no actual erotic sex scenes. There are healthcare scenes that describe procedures and bodily functions and fluids. There is a fair amount of poop in some scenes. The F-word appears once, on page 167, used in an expletive sense. The word "shit" appears twice, once as an expletive on p. 51 and once in reference to bodily waste and also metaphorically.
Book Description:
What happens when a forty-something, community college sociology professor learns that her mother―a charming, passive-aggressive, and needy woman who hasn’t had a lover in decades―has started seeing men who want to be bound, whipped, and sexually dominated? What happens when that same mother, shortly after diving into her newly discovered sexuality, develops a cancer that forces her to accept radical changes to her body, and then another that forces her, and everyone around her, to confront her mortality? In Bound, Elizabeth Anne Wood addresses these questions as she chronicles the last eight months of her mother’s life―a period she comes to see, over the course of months, as a maternity leave in reverse: she is carrying her mother as she dies. Throughout their journey, Wood uses her notebook as a shield to keep unruly emotions at bay, often taking comfort in her role as advocate and forgetting to “be the daughter,” as one doctor reminds her to do. Meanwhile, her mother’s penchant for denial and her childlike tendency toward magical thinking lead to moments of humor even as Wood battles the red tape of hospital bureaucracies, the frustration of planning in the midst of an unpredictable illness, and the unintentional inhumanity of a health care system that too often fails to see the person behind the medical chart.
What happens when a forty-something, community college sociology professor learns that her mother―a charming, passive-aggressive, and needy woman who hasn’t had a lover in decades―has started seeing men who want to be bound, whipped, and sexually dominated? What happens when that same mother, shortly after diving into her newly discovered sexuality, develops a cancer that forces her to accept radical changes to her body, and then another that forces her, and everyone around her, to confront her mortality? In Bound, Elizabeth Anne Wood addresses these questions as she chronicles the last eight months of her mother’s life―a period she comes to see, over the course of months, as a maternity leave in reverse: she is carrying her mother as she dies. Throughout their journey, Wood uses her notebook as a shield to keep unruly emotions at bay, often taking comfort in her role as advocate and forgetting to “be the daughter,” as one doctor reminds her to do. Meanwhile, her mother’s penchant for denial and her childlike tendency toward magical thinking lead to moments of humor even as Wood battles the red tape of hospital bureaucracies, the frustration of planning in the midst of an unpredictable illness, and the unintentional inhumanity of a health care system that too often fails to see the person behind the medical chart.
* Kew and Willow is Dr. Wood's local indie bookstore. If you put a comment in the order form saying that you want a signed copy, they'll call the author to come down and sign your book. They also do a lovely wrapping job.
Meet the Author:
Elizabeth Anne Wood is Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at Nassau Community College in Garden City, NY. She is also Senior Strategist for Woodhull Freedom Foundation, the nation’s only human rights organization working full time to protect sexual freedom as a fundamental human right. She earned her PhD at Brandeis University in 1999 and has written critically about sexuality and society ever since. Born on an Army base in Kentucky, Wood grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and now divides her time between Queens, New York and Jamaica Plain, Boston. She is a devoted fan of Amtrak and an avowed cat person.
Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram
Elizabeth Anne Wood is Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at Nassau Community College in Garden City, NY. She is also Senior Strategist for Woodhull Freedom Foundation, the nation’s only human rights organization working full time to protect sexual freedom as a fundamental human right. She earned her PhD at Brandeis University in 1999 and has written critically about sexuality and society ever since. Born on an Army base in Kentucky, Wood grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and now divides her time between Queens, New York and Jamaica Plain, Boston. She is a devoted fan of Amtrak and an avowed cat person.
Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram
Tour Schedule:
June 24 – Working Mommy Journal – book review / giveaway
June 25 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
June 25 - Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway
June 26 – Books for Books – book review
June 29 – I'm Into Books – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
June 29 - T's Stuff – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 30 –Pen Possessed - book spotlight / giveaway
July 1 – Svetlanas reads and views – book review / guest post
July 2 – Leels Loves Books – book review / giveaway
July 3 –
July 5 – Cheryl's Book Nook – book review / giveaway
July 7 – Sefina Hawke's Books – book spotlight / giveaway
July 8 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book review / giveaway
July 9 –
July 10 - Adventurous Jessy - book review / giveaway
June 24 – Working Mommy Journal – book review / giveaway
June 25 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
June 25 - Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway
June 26 – Books for Books – book review
June 29 – I'm Into Books – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
June 29 - T's Stuff – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
June 30 –Pen Possessed - book spotlight / giveaway
July 1 – Svetlanas reads and views – book review / guest post
July 2 – Leels Loves Books – book review / giveaway
July 3 –
July 5 – Cheryl's Book Nook – book review / giveaway
July 7 – Sefina Hawke's Books – book spotlight / giveaway
July 8 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book review / giveaway
July 9 –
July 10 - Adventurous Jessy - book review / giveaway
My Review
Bound: A Daughter, a Domme, and an End-of-Life Story by Elizabeth Anne Wood is an adult non fiction book that should only be read by those over the age of 18 as it is filled with many adult concepts. As a psychology student I found this book to be interesting as it explored the mindset of the caretaker as she learned more about her mother's life, had to deal with the health care system, and as she had to handle being both a daughter and a caretaker. All in all this is a book I would recommend to adults dealing with a family member facing terminal illness.
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