NPR Driveway Moments Moms

As men and women tell about their uncommon mothers, their stories merge in to a meaningful, defining montage. Varied music, moods, and settings make a crazy quilt of these memories, first aired on NPR. Settings vary from Arlington, Virginia, where mothers meet their sons' graves to Montana, where a state legislator rises from poverty with her children. Emotions are high as a daughter tearfully remembers her mother's last Thanksgiving, with an IV providing nourishment. Then there's the story of phone messages between Amy Borkowsky and her mother, which led to the book AMY'S ANSWERING MACHINE. Perspectives are as different as linguist Deborah Tannen's interview describing the typical mother-daughter relationship of caring and criticism and the story of a mother whose personal experiences teach that her mother's "Because I said so!" works better with her kids than her own nightmare as the "Mother Teresa of labeling feelings." S.W. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine