Happy New Year!!! The following is a copy of the letter I have recently written to Peggy Robin, the author of _Bottlefeeding Without Guilt_. I chose to focus more on my personal reaction to her book and to leave it to greater lights than myself in the field of lactation to take her to task on more technical issues. If I hear back from her, I'll let you all see her response. <snip addresses> Dear Ms. Robin: I am writing to express my disappointment with your recent book, _Bottlefeeding Without Guilt_. While I suspect that a book detailing accurate information on methods of and aids to bottlefeeding would be useful for many people, I fail to see how the anti-breastfeeding bias in your book serves any reader. As a nursing mother and lay breastfeeding counselor I was dismayed at the many inaccuracies in your presentation of information on breastfeeding and I suspect that many women would take from your book a picture of breastfeeding as unpleasant, fraught with difficulty, and burdensome. Needless to say, that has not been my personal experience. Your portrayal of breastfeeding is at least as unrealistic as any glowing portrayal I have read, and is far less scientific in its assessment of the documented health benefits of breastfeeding. However, my main source of personal frustration with your book is at being labeled a "cult member," and having many of my most closely held beliefs publicly stereotyped and derided. I fail to see how insulting me, and others who subscribe to what is often referred to as an attachment/continuum parenting philosophy, furthers the cause of reducing bottlefeeding mothers' guilt. Let me add that I have *never* accosted any woman to challenge her feeding method, and, as a breastfeeding counselor, I work hard to convey the message that each mother is the expert on her own family's needs and to meet that mother where *she* is at in her parenting philosophy. Therefore I feel quite angry at being treated with the disrespect that I am unfairly accused of meting out to bottlefeeding women. I strongly suggest that in future editions of your book you eliminate Chapter 3 and the maligning spirit therein. Let me conclude by reiterating that, while bottlefeeding mothers may well be in need of information and support, this need not come at the expense of breastfeeding mothers. Nor should mothers necessarily feel guilty about their decision. <snip quote from page 95 of _Mothering Your Nursing Toddler_ "It seems to me that the mother. . .rightly so."> Women who feel confident that their parenting decisions are the ones necessary for their families need not feel guilty; nor should they feel called upon to defend their decisions in the face of others who have made different decisions. However, women can only make confident choices when they are given accurate information and freedom from fear of judgment. Your book, sadly, seeks to deny them both. Respectfully yours, Penny Piercy Penny Piercy, LLLL, MOM (Patrick 2 3/4) from Bloomington, IN