I ended up skimming this toward the end because a lot of what Garbes is saying in this book is interesting and true but mostly not very new (to me) or helpful (to me). It's more enjoyable as a memoir about surviving the pandemic with two small children as a working mom and also growing up as the daughter of Filipino immigrant parents.

It's clear Garbes did a lot of background reading in order to write this book. There are lots of quotes from other writers and interesting history tidbits. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book. For example, in the early 1980s Angela Davis "argued that housework should no longer be private. She envisioned the industrialization of housework: 'teams of trained and well-paid workers, moving from dwelling to dwelling...'" Fascinating! Also in 1975 women in Iceland staged a strike and "brought Iceland's economy to its knees."

In later chapters, the book lost some oomph for me. Still, I look forward to reading more of Garbes' work in the future. I like where she's going. ( )

A bit of a speed read because it was due yesterday, and there's a hold on it so I can't renew. This ended up being a really nice way to spend my first Mother's Day weekend, though! [b:Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy|35068708|Like a Mother A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy|Angela Garbes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519836595l/35068708._SX50_.jpg|56364139] was one of my favorite pregnancy reads, so it follows that Essential Labor would also be one of my favorite meditations on motherhood thus far (not that I've read much, given, well, new motherhood). Garbes considers caregiving, specifically for children within her own context as a Filipinx American daughter of immigrants living in the PNW. I found a lot of resonance for me, especially when she talked about growing up in rural Pennsylvania and her parents having to adjust what they knew of parenting from the Philippines to meet this new American context. I've also been thinking about the division of labor, and expectations when they differ from lived contexts (my husband and I are not within driving distance of either of our families, and it would be prohibitively expensive for them to regularly be available for care unless big changes are made).

Short, and definitely leans on the autobiographical. For further digging into any of the topics Garbes brings up, would probably pursue her cited sources from the bibliography (which include many other things I'd like to read such as [b:Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone|53241562|Work Won't Love You Back How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone|Sarah Jaffe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589823549l/53241562._SY75_.jpg|80653244] or things I've already read and loved such as [b:Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning|52845775|Minor Feelings An Asian American Reckoning|Cathy Park Hong|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580788273l/52845775._SX50_SY75_.jpg|72657866]). ( )

Essential Labor is definitely a book that many will enjoy; however, this book was not for me. I did not grow up privileged and had to work hard to become successful and would never put anyone down who has different ambitions than I. Some parts of the book had me laughing but I more often found myself feeling confused as if I were being passively bullied. ( )