Behave

(In)famous psychologist John Watson the founder of the school of behaviorism--penned a popular parenting guide in 1928 that warned against the perils of showing affection toward your children! Society is cruel, you see, so if you coddle your kids they will be ill-prepared to face life s challenges, or so his theory went. To what degree did Watson s wife and the mother of his children agree? Andromeda Romano-Lax s slyly provocative historical novel, Behave, answers this question, which isn t clear-cut despite the fact that said spouse, Rosalie Rayner, was also Watson s research associate, an active participatant in not only the writing of Psychological Care of Infant and Child, but Watson s controversial Little Albert experiment (Google it it s the stuff of dystopian nightmares). This novel also grapples with some very modern conundrums. Rayner was obviously learned and ambitious in her own right, but felt pressured to put her career aside to advance her husband s, and to raise their children in such a way as to prove his veracity as an expert in child development (and therefore be complicit if he wasn t). Behaving, staying in one s place, isn t always the best thing, and Romano-Lax s fascinating characterization of this complex woman will have you empathizing with Rayner despite yourself. You ll want to hug your kids extra tight after reading it. --Erin Kodicek