In a new book, the writer Kim Brooks investigates how a culture of fear and anxiety has shaped modern parenting. It’s also about her personal story of defending herself against a charge of child neglect.
In March of 2011, Kim Brooks, an underemployed writer and frazzled mom, made a split-second decision. She left her 4-year-old son in the car while she ran into a store for a few minutes. What she didn’t know was that a stranger had filmed her and given the video to the police, who charged her with neglect. In a new book, Brooks recounts the fallout from that single moment. She also investigates how a growing culture of fear and anxiety has shaped modern American parenting, for better and worse.
Kim Brooks is a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, New York magazine, and on Salon.com. Her new book is called Small Animals: Parenting in the Age of Fear [Indie bookstores|Amazon|Audible].
