Raintree: Haunted by Linda Winstead Jones

Raintree: Haunted by Linda Winstead Jones

This book is a socio-legal interdisciplinary study on gender and diversity in multicultural societies of Europe. It uses secondary data to discuss the broad experiences of migrant single mothers/women in Europe. Second, it includes narratives of experiences across the life course of single Danish-Pakistani women, starting from their pre-migration background to their elderly lives. The author uses an analytical framework used of relational collectivism and individualism, the former referring to the understanding of oneself as connected and interdependent to the family, and the latter referring to values of independence, personal interest and achievements. She uses the term m lange familism to explain a new family type that combines both relational-collectivist and individualist elements. A major part of this work is its deliberation of m lange familism and processes of social and legal practices in the everyday lives of single mothers. Crucially, the book demonstrates that social and legal traditions are not static, but are a product of improvisation. It makes a significant contribution by providing an alternate picture of single women/mothers as against the stereotypical image of 'passive, subordinate Muslim women'. It also contributes to gender and family studies by showing the increasing establishment of single-mother-headed households as a source of new possibilities; a new type or form of family construction, and not just the tragic residue of a broken two-parent family.

New York Times bestselling author Linda Winstead Jones has written more than seventy romance books in several subgenres—historical, fairy tale, paranormal, contemporary and romantic suspense. She is also a six-time RITA® Award finalist and winner of the 2004 RITA® Award for paranormal romance. Linda lives in north Alabama with her husband of forty-two years. She can be reached via www.Harlequin.com or her own website, www.lindawinsteadjones.com.