Emily Matchar / writer

Early reviews of “Homeward Bound:”

“The brilliance of Emily Matchar’s new book is that it exhaustively describes what disillusioned workers are opting into: a slower, more sustainable, and more self-sufficient lifestyle that’s focused on the home. Matchar synthesizes dozens of trend stories … into a single, compelling narrative about the resurgence of domesticity….Refreshing.”  -The New Republic

“Matchar researches the trend of the “homemade, from scratch, DIY, straight from the backyard, fresh baked, [and] artisan” by visiting practitioners of the New Domesticity across the country—Etsy entrepreneurs, food bloggers, knitting circles—and she provocatively explores what the movement says about the role of women in society today.” – The New Yorker

I unreservedly loved it…It’s empathetic and funny and thoughtful and smart, and I encourage all of you to read it.– The Hairpin

“Chock-full of historical context, strong research, and compelling personal stories…Matchar is a skilled, thoughtful writer, and in “Homeward Bound” she offers not only cultural insights but also empathy for the modern American idealist.” - The Christian Science Monitor

“Cogently argues that choosing a more hands-on, DIY lifestyle – family farming, canning, crafting, can, without sacrificing feminism’s hard-won gains, improve on an earlier time when ‘people lived more lightly on the earth and relied less on corporations, and family and community came first.’” - ELLE

“Matchar’s analysis of this cultural phenomenon is intelligent and insightful—essential reading for anyone who has ever felt inadequate or guilty for not DIYing it all.” - Christianity Today

“What Emily Matchar calls the “New Domesticity” encompasses everything from the revival of craftwork like knitting and needlepoint to the locavore movement to attachment parenting (although not every devotee embraces all three, a number do). And while the trend of “collective nostalgia and domesticity-mania speak[s] to deep cultural longings,” Matchar argues, it comes with negative (or at least troubling) side effects.” - The Boston Globe

“A lively and perceptive reporter… [Matchar] offers a valuable and astute assessment of the factors that led to the current embracing of domesticity and the consequences of this movement.”—Publishers Weekly

“A well-researched look at the resurgence of home life…. Offers intriguing insight into the renaissance of old-fashioned home traditions.”— Kirkus Reviews

Stories about Homeward Bound

“One of the delights of Homeward Bound is how Matchar refuses to allow her initial sympathies for the new domesticity and its practitioners to blind her to the movement’s not insignificant downsides.” - The Guardian

“It’s easy to mock the twee, hyperlocal, handmade aesthetic that dominates fashionable enclaves in places like Brooklyn and Portland, Oregon. But in her new book, Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity, Emily Matchar makes a convincing argument that it actually represents a generational change in values born of a deep disaffection with the modern workplace, one with real implications for gender equality.” - The Daily Beast

“Matchar’s point is that pottering around at home and making something tangible is an emerging leisure pursuit – not just for stay-at-home mums…but for everyone.”- The Sydney Morning Herald

“A nuanced, sympathetic critique of the new domesticity” – Mother Jones

“Is the feminist movement to blame for our expanding waistline? In her book “Homeward Bound,”excerpted on Salon, author Emily Matchar points to food writers and experts who’ve pinned the problem on feminism…” - LA Times

“She believes that the homemade weddings – including her own – are part of a larger trend of simplicity (which is anything but simple) and tradition (which is anything but traditional).- Sydsvenskan (Sweden)

Media Appearances

Good Morning America – Friday 5/31

MSNBC’s The Cycle – Friday 5/31

BBC News Hour

The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC New York Public Radio

CBC

The State of Things on WUNC North Carolina Public Radio

Think on KERA Texas Public Radio

The Conversation on KUOW Seattle Public Radio

Word of Mouth – New Hampshire Public Radio

This is Hell on WNUR Chicago

Voice of America (TV)

Judith Regan Show

Hi guys. I’ve got big news, and a very special request:

If you’re thinking about buying a copy of Homeward Bound, I would love it if you could pre-order it on Amazon orIndieBound by May 7 (the book’s release date).

Why? Because, for every copy sold by May 7, we will donate $1 to the National Partnership for Women and Families. This is an awesome, four-star charity which works to further fairness in the workplace and other policies to “help women and men meet the dual demands of work and family.” They fight for things like equal pay for men and women, paid sick days, and anti-pregnancy discrimination legislation.

Since so much of Homeward Bound is about the continued difficulties of raising a family while balancing work and life in America (the ONLY developed country with no mandatory paid maternity leave!), it seems appropriate that some of the proceeds of the book should go towards fighting for better conditions for all our families. I would love it if you could help make this happen!

How to participate:

- Pre-order your book on Amazon HERE or IndieBound HERE.

- Send me an email (ematchar@gmail.com) or a Tweet (@emilymatchar) with the words “pre-ordered.”

Share via social media to encourage more donations:

Twitter: I pre-ordered Homeward Bound. Join the movement & @emilymatchar will give $1 to @NPWF#homewardbound

Facebook Status: I just pre-ordered Homeward Bound at Amazon/IndieBound. Do the same and author Emily Matchar will donate $1 to the National Partnership for Women and Families! Just email her at ematchar@gmail.com or Tweet her at @emilymatchar to say you’ve pre-ordered.

Here are some kind words from people that have read my book so far:

“The brilliance of Emily Matchar’s new book is that it exhaustively describes what disillusioned workers are opting into: a slower, more sustainable, and more self-sufficient lifestyle that’s focused on the home. Matchar synthesizes dozens of trend stories … into a single, compelling narrative about the resurgence of domesticity….Refreshing.”  -The New Republic

“Cogently argues that choosing a more hands-on, DIY lifestyle – family farming, canning, crafting, can, without sacrificing feminism’s hard-won gains, improve on an earlier time when ‘people lived more lightly on the earth and relied less on corporations, and family and community came first.’” - ELLE

“A lively and perceptive reporter… [Matchar] offers a valuable and astute assessment of the factors that led to the current embracing of domesticity and the consequences of this movement.”—Publishers Weekly

“A well-researched look at the resurgence of home life…. Offers intriguing insight into the renaissance of old-fashioned home traditions.”— Kirkus Reviews

It’s out May 7, but you can pre-order it now on Amazon or IndieBound!

A few nice things people have been saying about the book:

“A lively and perceptive reporter… [Matchar] offers a valuable and astute assessment of the factors that led to the current embracing of domesticity and the consequences of this movement.”

—Publishers Weekly

“A well-researched look at the resurgence of home life…. Offers intriguing insight into the

renaissance of old-fashioned home traditions.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“This book heralds a revolution in the attitudes and values of our society and will certainly divide public opinion in general and women in particular.”

—Elisabeth Badinter, bestselling author of The Conflict: How Modern Motherhood Undermines the Status of Women

“The brilliance of Emily Matchar’s new book, Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity, is that it exhaustively describes what disillusioned workers are opting into: a slower, more sustainable, and more self-sufficient lifestyle that’s focused on the home…Though the vast majority of Machar’s subjects are women, this is not just a story about gender roles. It’s about what happens when the structures we were raised to buy into don’t provide what they were supposed to provide, and the alternative values that have, for a growing subset of Americans, come to replace them.”

- The New Republic

The book cover is here! Illustration by the ultra-talented Julia Rothman. More about the cover and new subtitle at New Domesticity. The book is also on pre-order at Amazon. Exciting!

As I research my book, I’ll be blogging about all things women- and domesticity-related at my new blog, New Domesticity. I’ll be talking about everything from “why do women have such a love/hate thing for The Pioneer Woman?” to “should we bring back home ec class?” to “why is jam-canning so cool again?” and linking to interesting stories about women and 21st century homemaking. Please join me, and please jump in with any and all opinions.

I’m writing a nonfiction book! It’s called Homeward Bound: The New Cult of Domesticity, and  it will be published by Free Press at Simon & Schuster in 2013 (2013!).

The book is a look at the social movement I call ‘New Domesticity’ – the fascination with reviving “lost” domestic arts like canning, bread-baking, knitting, chicken-raising, etc. Why are women of my generation, the daughters of post-Betty Friedan feminists, embracing the domestic tasks that our mothers and grandmothers so eagerly shrugged off? Why has the image of the blissfully domestic supermom overtaken the Sex & the City-style single urban careerist as the media’s feminine ideal? Where does this movement come from? What does it mean for women? For families? For society?

Any and all opinions are most welcome. If you’re a knitter, a mom blogger, a banker-turned-baker, a neo-homesteader – or if you simply have an opinion about women and domesticity – I’d love to hear from you!