Publisher's Synopsis
Five years after Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother burst onto the scene, it's still a cultural phenomenon. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Daughter is a systematic response to that book. It's a brutally honest, hilarious parenting memoir that explores the explosive issues raised by Tiger Mother, arguing that the only parenting battle worth fighting is the one against our own worst selves.
How one family fought the myth that you have to destroy childhood to raise extraordinary adults. What does a "successful" child look like? If you imagined a straight-A-earning, classical-music-playing, rule-following, Ivy-bound prodigy, you're not alone. This is what I thought my kid should look like, too. I was determined to raise my child in this image, no matter the cost. After all, I was one of those kids. The traditional path to success sure worked for me. But life intervened in ways I couldn't have imagined. I was faced with two choices: Impose my will no matter the trauma. Or, take a frightening, uncharted path- -to where? A sub-standard child, unable to succeed on the level I had? Did letting up mean letting my child down? Answering these questions took my family on a fascinating journey. What looked and felt like failure after failure on adult terms led to a different kind of success: mad creativity, fierce independence, and relentless self-direction. In other words, everything an adult needs to make it in today's world. So what does a successful child look like? She looks like my child. Maybe she also looks a lot like yours. "Want your child to be creative, independent, mentally balanced and ready to take on the world? Read Battle Hymn of the Tiger Daughter, the story of one American kid, one American mother, lots of self-doubt, and eventual triumph--the American way." --Goodreads.com"I enjoyed it more than the Tiger Mother version! the daughter's POV is interesting. She's a smart girl without parental influence. Mom was smart to let her little ones shine on their own!" --Goodreads.com
(Diana Holquist is the award-winning author of six novels and the parody children's book, The Rabbit Who Wants to Go to Harvard. She's won the New York Book Festival award for Best Novel; has garnered a coveted starred review from Publisher's Weekly; and, she's been a RITA and Reader's Choice Award finalist. A graduate of Columbia University, she lives in Philadelphia with her husband, two kids, and three cats. She also writes small-town women's fiction under the pseudonym Sophie Gunn.) PRAISE FOR NOVELS BY DIANA HOLQUIST
"With characters so real, they jump off the page..." --Doubleday Book Club
"(Holquist)...raises some serious issues, leaving readers' eyes shining both with happiness and tears." --Library Journal
"...laughter, passion and deeply moving sentiment." --New York Times Bestseller Robyn Carr
"...Holquist is one for the keeper shelf." --Parksberg News and Sentinel
"A real treat for readers..." --New York Times Bestseller Susan Wiggs
"A delightful debut..." --Booklist, starred review
"...humor, warmth, emotions, characters that step off the page..." --New York Times Bestseller Mariah Stewart
