Tag Archives: Penguin Books

When I picked Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman to read during my maternity leave, I thought was just in for a cute parenting book with a fun Parisian twist, but it turned out to be a fascinating study of French and American culture surrounding child rearing. Less of a how-to book and more of an anthropologist’s deep dive into french society and culture in a very baptism by fire approach. Newly married to a British sports writer covering soccer/football in France, fellow journalist, Pamela Druckerman moves from New York to Paris to start fresh and begin a whole new life with her partner. As she and her husband embark on this Parisian adventure and begin having children, Druckerman recounts her struggles with pregnancy and raising children in a foreign country as well as a study on the differences she see in the French approach to having and raising children. At times frustrating and lonely, Druckerman navigates prenatal care, french hospital births, newborn sleep issues, childcare, and even child etiquette in Paris. The deeply ingrained culture of raising children in France as additions to your current family and integrating children into your way of life contrasts with the American sensibility of having your life revolve around your children. Fascinating and at times eye opening, I enjoyed the authors honest and raw insights about their journey having children, navigating marriage, and adopting a new hybrid culture for her family.

Druckerman, Pamela. Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting. Penguin Books. 2014.