Ayelet Waldman talked about her book Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace (Doubleday; May 5, 2009). Ms. Waldman wrote the book in response to the public outcry that branded her a “bad mother” for declaring in a New York Times essay that she loves her husband more than her children. The essay began a national discussion on stereotypes about motherhood. Ms. Waldman read a selection from her book about her struggles to be what she feels would be a “good” mother and the criticism she has received. In her often jocular presentation she distributed prizes to audience members as she answered their questions.

Ms. Waldman is a former federal public defender whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, Elle, Vogue, New York and salon.com. She is the author of Daughter’s Keeper, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, and the Mommy-Track series of mysteries. Her husband is author Michael Chabron.