A woman today no longer steps into well-defined role when she becomes a mother--each must reinvent the role for herself. Over the past fifty years, our society has grown increasingly impersonal and fragmented, and support for childrearing has eroded. To secure the well-being of her children and herself, and mother needs to be confident, strong, and clear-headed. Yet society still expects mothers to be self-effacing, sweet, patient, and always available. Vast numbers of women are struggling to reconcile the realities of motherhood with the script we've received from society and religion. This struggle is essentially a spiritual one, believes author Trudelle Thomas. If you hunger for a deeper, more passionate spiritual life but don't find sustenance in most religious institutions, you are not alone. If you sometimes wrestle with loneliness, exhaustion, guilt, and anger, this book will help you embrace both motherhood and full personhood; it will help you bring your whole self to God. A mix of personal stories, theological reflection, and practical wisdom, Spirituality in the Mother Zone offers both comfort and courage. A professor and mother "in the trenches," Trudelle Thomas articulates the problems faced by mothers today in fresh language, and points to new paths for women and their faith communities.