In the Country of Men: My Travels

Waldron (Giving Away Simone) reveals at the outset that ""adult males are significantly limited in ways that are important to me,"" but she allows that she is ""optimistic about boys.""She recalls her experiences living with males, including her father, her only brother, lovers and the two sons she raised essentially on her own--her husband left when the boys were, respectively, four and five. A compelling and evocative writer, Waldron is at her best when she describes a childhood with a father who did not accept the responsibilities of parenthood and a brother who sheltered her from her neglectful male parent and mentally ill mother. The author empathizes with men's difficulties in defining themselves and has attempted to raise her sons without gender bias. She argues that unisex self-awareness, rather than the male bonding suggested by current theorists such as Robert Bly, is the only hope for good relationships between men and women. Although her insights are thought-provoking, some of Waldron's commentary on men seems more based on her negative experiences than on objective insight. She claims to share a current happy relationship with author David McPhail. (May)