A century ago it was women's sexual desires that were unspeakable, today it is the female desire to mother that has become taboo. Shedding new light on old debates, psychologist Daphne de Marneffe offers mothers in all situations valuable ways to think through their self-doubts and connect to their capacity for pleasure. Drawing on such writers as Simone de Beauvoir, Adrienne Rich, and Susan Faludi, de Marneffe illuminates how we express our desire to care for children, suggesting that by treating maternal desire as a central feature of women's identity, we can look with fresh insight at controversial issues like fertility, abortion, and the role of fathers.