Upcoming Events at Seattle Public Library-Central Library
Tue May 17, 7:00 PM - Tue May 17, 8:00 PM
Seattle Public Library-Central Library
1000 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
Community: Pioneer Square
Description
Join us for a conversation about Garbes’ new book, which examines the potential of mothering to reshape society at a foundational level.
Event Details
This event is being presented in person at Central Library, with the option to view the livestream from home. It is presented in partnership with Elliott Bay Book Company. Books will be available for sale at Central Library on the evening of the event, and signed copies may be available from Elliott Bay Book Company after the program.
This event is supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation. Thanks to media sponsor The Seattle Times. This event will be recorded, captioned and then posted on the Library's YouTube channel after the event.
About the Book:
The Covid-19 pandemic shed fresh light on a long-overlooked truth: mothering is among the only essential work humans do. In response to the increasing weight placed on mothers and caregivers—and the lack of a social safety net to support them—writer Angela Garbes found herself pondering a vital question: How, under our current circumstances that leave us lonely, exhausted, and financially strained, might we demand more from American family life?
In "Essential Labor," Garbes explores assumptions about care, work, and deservedness, offering a deeply personal and rigorously reported look at what mothering is, and can be. A first-generation Filipino-American, Garbes shares the perspective of her family's complicated relationship to care work, placing mothering in a global context—the invisible economic engine that has been historically demanded of women of color.
Garbes contends that while the labor of raising children is devalued in America, the act of mothering offers the radical potential to create a more equitable society. In Essential Labor, Garbes reframes the physically and mentally draining work of meeting a child's bodily and emotional needs as opportunities to find meaning, to nurture a deeper sense of self, pleasure, and belonging. This is highly skilled labor, work that impacts society at its most foundational level.
Part galvanizing manifesto, part poignant narrative, Essential Labor is a beautifully rendered reflection on care that reminds us of the irrefutable power and beauty of mothering.
About the Speakers:
Angela Garbes is the author of "Like a Mother," an NPR Best Book of the Year and finalist for the Washington State Book Award in Nonfiction. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Cut, New York, Bon Appétit, and featured on NPR's Fresh Air. She also cohosts The Double Shift, an acclaimed podcast challenging the status quo of motherhood in America. She lives with her family in Seattle.
Melissa Miranda is the chef/owner of Musang, a Filipinx restaurant that opened in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood in January 2020. She attended culinary school and worked in kitchens in Florence, Italy, before cooking for two years in New York City. After returning to Seattle, she worked as a sous chef at Bar Del Corso while developing Musang. At Musang, she works with her team to craft dishes inspired by childhood memories. Musang also runs a not for profit, no questions asked, free meal program through their Community Kitchen, as well as a children's cooking program called Musang Little Wildcats. Melissa is committed to making Musang not just a traditional restaurant, but a community space that aims to educate the broader public about Filipino food and culture.
This event is supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation. Thanks to media sponsor The Seattle Times. This event will be recorded, captioned and then posted on the Library's YouTube channel after the event.
About the Book:
The Covid-19 pandemic shed fresh light on a long-overlooked truth: mothering is among the only essential work humans do. In response to the increasing weight placed on mothers and caregivers—and the lack of a social safety net to support them—writer Angela Garbes found herself pondering a vital question: How, under our current circumstances that leave us lonely, exhausted, and financially strained, might we demand more from American family life?
In "Essential Labor," Garbes explores assumptions about care, work, and deservedness, offering a deeply personal and rigorously reported look at what mothering is, and can be. A first-generation Filipino-American, Garbes shares the perspective of her family's complicated relationship to care work, placing mothering in a global context—the invisible economic engine that has been historically demanded of women of color.
Garbes contends that while the labor of raising children is devalued in America, the act of mothering offers the radical potential to create a more equitable society. In Essential Labor, Garbes reframes the physically and mentally draining work of meeting a child's bodily and emotional needs as opportunities to find meaning, to nurture a deeper sense of self, pleasure, and belonging. This is highly skilled labor, work that impacts society at its most foundational level.
Part galvanizing manifesto, part poignant narrative, Essential Labor is a beautifully rendered reflection on care that reminds us of the irrefutable power and beauty of mothering.
About the Speakers:
Angela Garbes is the author of "Like a Mother," an NPR Best Book of the Year and finalist for the Washington State Book Award in Nonfiction. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Cut, New York, Bon Appétit, and featured on NPR's Fresh Air. She also cohosts The Double Shift, an acclaimed podcast challenging the status quo of motherhood in America. She lives with her family in Seattle.
Melissa Miranda is the chef/owner of Musang, a Filipinx restaurant that opened in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood in January 2020. She attended culinary school and worked in kitchens in Florence, Italy, before cooking for two years in New York City. After returning to Seattle, she worked as a sous chef at Bar Del Corso while developing Musang. At Musang, she works with her team to craft dishes inspired by childhood memories. Musang also runs a not for profit, no questions asked, free meal program through their Community Kitchen, as well as a children's cooking program called Musang Little Wildcats. Melissa is committed to making Musang not just a traditional restaurant, but a community space that aims to educate the broader public about Filipino food and culture.
