When a mother says to her daughter, 'I love it when you wear your hair up', why does she interpret it as 'I don't like your hair down'? And why does such apparently trivial criticism drive a daughter into rage? The relationship between mothers and daughters is a particularly fraught one. And it doesn't necessarily improve when daughters are grown up. Each sees the other in themselves, which can result in closeness, but also conflict.
Deborah Tannen is the author of You Just Don't Understand, which explores the communication gap between men and women. In her new book she turns her attention to the way the thorny relationship between mothers and daughters is revealed through language. She's joined by the psychologist and writer Dorothy Rowe.
You're Wearing That? Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation is published by Random House, ISBN 1400062586.
|
