Description
Book SynopsisWhat if parenting were an act of social justice?
In this part story-telling, part self-inquiry book, authors and therapists Jaya Ramesh and Priya Saaral situate parenting children of colour with neurodivergence within the context of various interlocking systems of oppression including settler colonialism, White supremacy, ableism, and capitalism. These intersections engender isolation and loneliness.
Using the voices of parents on the front lines and other experts, Parenting at the Intersections offer an invitation to parents to slow down and reflect on their own parenting journeys.
When parents can be given space to listen to their own voices, to connect with their children, and find community with others, they can find the most radical ways to disrupt systems of oppression.
Trade ReviewParenting at the Intersections is what can happen when the primary relationship of parents and children is witnessed with complexity, care, and dignity. . . In these pages we are welcomed into a dynamism of cultural humility and lived authority. Priya and Jaya built for us a space of inquiry where conscious community can show up for every kind of family, where every family can be supported to hold every child in the way each child needs to be held - and where collectives can choose resilient grace, reliable vitality, and committed connection - over simple perfectionism. As they examine the ways in which ableism, ageism, racism, economic injustice, and other layers of oppression press in to interfere with authentic relationship, they guide us to bold efficacy in countering these forces in the most immediate zones of our lives. This is a work of courageous creativity and joy." - Dr. Leticia Nieto, author of
Beyond Empowerment, Beyond Inclusion"
Parenting at the Intersections is a book about
belonging. Belonging in the face of disconnection, migration trauma, colonial wounding, and neurodivergence. Belonging in ways that are not always comfortable for caregivers of all kinds to engage in and around. Jaya and Priya invite the reader of this book to re-remember the beauty of difference and the necessity of how to foster and curate our childrens’ differences. They speak of parenting our neurodivergent children of color as an act of liberation from systems of oppression—this in itself addresses the root and tends to the leaves of our youth. This book is a love letter and a form of disruption—this is my favorite kind of rebellion: one rooted in decolonial love." - Jennifer Mullan, PsyD, author of
Decolonizing Therapy"
Parenting at the Intersections is a wonderful contribution to literature and very needed. Focused on parents raising BIPOC neurodivergent children, the book and its authors invite parents into experience, connect, and grow. There is a pleasing warmth and relational quality that will surely resonate and empower parents and others who read this book. There is much to learn about intersectionality in neurodivergence and this book is a welcome contribution to the knowledge base. The authors cover a lot of ground, and the book includes several lived experience contributions. What a pleasing and informative book to review! I would recommend it to any parent and any professional working with BIPOC neurodivergent children." - Dr. Robert Jason Grant, founder of AutPlay Therapy
Table of ContentsPreface
Acknowledgments
A Note on Language
Our Community Members
Introduction
Part I The Foundations of the Home
1 The Framework
2 Standing at the Intersections: The Contexts We Parent In
3 The Map Is Not The Territory: The Role of Child Development Understanding How Our Children Develop
Part II Our Lives Inside the Home
4 Building the Model: Choosing to Parent Differently
5 Uncovering Vibrant Playgrounds: Embracing a Diversity of Play
6 Standing in the Doorway of Adulthood: Parenting Our Adolescents
7 Parenting at the Edge of Understanding: Setting Boundaries with Tech
Part III Our Work in the World
8 The Halls of Medicine: Navigating Medical Systems
9 Unlearning the Script: Educating Our Children
10 Dismantling the Pipeline: Protecting Our Children in Justice Systems
11 Finding What Feels Like Home: Building Our Village
Part IV Building a Better World
12 A Parenting Love Ethic: An Invitation to Emancipation
Notes
