However diligent she may be, however dedicated, no mother can escape the larger influences of culture, biology, fate... until we can actually live in a society where mothers and children genuinely matter, ours is an essentially powerless responsibility. Mothers carry out most of the work orders, but most of the rules governing our lives are shaped by outside influences.

American Mom: Motherhood, Politics, and Humble Pie (ed. Simon and Schuster, 1995) - ISBN: 9780671535209