Not the Whole Story: Challenging the Single Mother Narrative

Not the Whole Story is a compilation of sixteen stories narrated by single mothers in their own way and about their own lives. Each story is unique, but the same issues appear again and again. Abuse, parenting as single mothers, challenges in the labour market, mental health and addictions issues, a scarcity of quality childcare, immigration and status vulnerability, struggles with custody, and poverty—these factors, combined with a lack of support, contribute to their continued struggles.

The themes that recur across stories illustrate that the issues the women face are not just about individual struggle; they demonstrate that major issues in Canada’s social system have been neglected in public policy. In order for these issues to be addressed we need to challenge the flawed public policies and the negative discourse that continue to marginalize single mothers—in terms of the opportunities in their own lives and in terms of how they are understood by other Canadians.

The first-person narratives of the struggles and issues faced by low-income single mothers provide narrative richness and are augmented by introductory and concluding chapters that draw the narrative themes together and offer overarching discussion and analysis.

Introduction

Lea Caragata

The introductory chapter describes the book’s genesis, the methodological approach utilized in its production and explains the rationale for a focus on single mothers. Dominant themes of welfare and work are contextualized with brief descriptions of how these issues have affected low income single mothers.

Chapters 1-17

Each of the 17 chapters are narrated by a low income lone mother and each focuses on the issues in that woman’s life that she believes to have been critical to understanding her current life circumstance.

Conclusion

Lea Caragata and Judit Alcalde

The concluding chapter highlights the themes that are common to many of the women’s stories and discusses the services, programs and public discourse that both contributed to these women’s experiences of adversity and that might facilitate improved well-being for these families.