Download or read book Mothering Through the Darkness written by Stephanie Sprenger and published by She Writes Press. This book was released on 2015-11-03 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Approximately 1 in 7 women suffer from postpartum depression after having a baby. Many more may experience depression during pregnancy, postpartum anxiety, OCD, and other mood disorders. Postpartum depression is, in fact, the most common pregnancy-related complication—yet confusion and misinformation about this disorder are still widespread. And these aren’t harmless myths: the lack of clarity surrounding mothers’ mental health challenges can have devastating effects on their well-being and their identities as mothers, which too often leads to shame and inadequate treatment. In this one-of-a-kind anthology, thirty mothers break the silence to dispel myths about postpartum mental health issues and explore the diversity of women’s experiences. Powerful and inspiring, Mothering Through the Darkness will comfort every mother who’s ever felt alone, ashamed, and hopeless—and, hopefully, inspire her to speak out.
Download or read book The Herstories Project written by Jessica Smock and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2013-11 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The bonds of women's friendship can be more intimate than marriage, and just as essential to emotional health. From the childhood friend who broke your heart to the college roommate who witnessed you at your highest and lowest, from the lost friendship that ended bitterly to the devoted companion who is still in your life, from the bond that was forged due to shared grief to the shaky connection born with new motherhood, all women have stories to tell about their friendships. The HerStories Project: Women Explore the Joy, Pain, and Power of Female Friendship is a collection of essays from over 50 women writers, encompassing tales of friendship from the sandbox to the inbox. The book includes a foreword from Jill Smokler of Scary Mommy and several chapters on understanding friendship from friendship experts Shasta Nelson and Carlin Flora. In this book, you will read stories of childhood friendship, relationships between sisters, mothers, and daughters, grown-up friendships--both real life and online-- friendships during motherhood, and stories of friendship break-ups and losses. Whether you identify with the new mother who struggles with loneliness, the woman who looks forward to her social media notifications, the challenging and complex relationship of sisters, or the stories of friends that have drifted apart, you will recognize yourself somewhere in the pages of this book.
Download or read book And Now We Have Everything written by Meaghan O'Connell and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2018-04-10 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Selected as One of the Best Books of the Year by: National Public Radio, Esquire, Bustle, Refinery29, Thrillist, Electric Literature, Powell's, Autostraddle, BookRiot, Women.com "Smart, funny, and true in all the best ways, this book made me ache with recognition." -- Cheryl Strayed A raw, funny, and fiercely honest account of becoming a mother before feeling like a grown up. When Meaghan O'Connell got accidentally pregnant in her twenties and decided to keep the baby, she realized that the book she needed -- a brutally honest, agenda-free reckoning with the emotional and existential impact of motherhood -- didn't exist. So she decided to write it herself. And Now We Have Everything is O'Connell's exploration of the cataclysmic, impossible-to-prepare-for experience of becoming a mother. With her dark humor and hair-trigger B.S. detector, O'Connell addresses the pervasive imposter syndrome that comes with unplanned pregnancy, the fantasies of a "natural" birth experience that erode maternal self-esteem, post-partum body and sex issues, and the fascinating strangeness of stepping into a new, not-yet-comfortable identity. Channeling fears and anxieties that are still taboo and often unspoken, And Now We Have Everything is an unflinchingly frank, funny, and visceral motherhood story for our times, about having a baby and staying, for better or worse, exactly yourself.
Download or read book Walk Through Darkness written by David Anthony Durham and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2009-08-19 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When he learns that his pregnant wife has been spirited off to a distant city, William responds as any man might—he drops everything to pursue her. But as a fugitive slave in Antebellum America, he must run a terrifying gauntlet, eluding the many who would re-enslave him while learning to trust the few who dare to aid him on his quest. Among those hunting William is Morrison, a Scot who as a young man fled the miseries of his homeland only to discover even more brutal realities in the New World. Bearing many scars, including the loss of his beloved brother, Morrison tracks William for reasons of his own, a personal agenda rooted in tragic events that have haunted him for decades. Following up on his award-winning debut, Gabriel’s Story, David Anthony Durham presents another riveting tale, a brilliantly drawn portrait of America before the Civil War, and a provocative meditation on racial identity, freedom and equality.
Download or read book Becoming Mother written by Sharon Tjaden-Glass and published by . This book was released on 2015-08-01 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Becoming Mother" tells the story of a woman becoming a mother. It is a reflective memoir that spans from pregnancy through the end of the first year postpartum. It follows the author as she resists, denies, copes with, and ultimately embraces her identity as a mother. This isn't a guide or a parenting book. Its goal isn't to convert you to one brand of motherhood or another. Instead, its goal is to show you what becoming a mother can be like. Without sarcasm. Without boasting or martyrdom. Just the plain, messy truth of what it's like for one to become two.
Download or read book I Am Her Daughter written by Licia Berry and published by . This book was released on 2016-03-22 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I Am Her Daughter - The Healing Path to A Woman's Power by Licia Berry addresses the unhealed Mother Wound in women, in culture, and in the world. The author shares her personal healing and offers strategies for women to reclaim their birthright of love and acceptance, with an eye on healing the global Mother Wound. Are you a woman who: has difficulty trusting yourself, is often called "overly sensitive," has difficulty setting firm boundaries, doubts that you are loved and lovable, rejects the wonder of your woman's body, feels you must earn your right to voice your opinion, knows there is something wrong but can't seem to name it, avoids intimacy with other women, having few close friends, is struggling to find your place and permission to be in the world, doubts your unique brilliance and suffers from a lack of confidence, has disturbing memories of your mother but is afraid to talk about it, mistrusts and has difficulty with other women, even though you seek their approval, has or had a challenging relationship with your mother (or even no relationship at all?) "For many of us, especially women, the first wound - the Mother Wound -is the one that shapes our lives. It is a wound to every part of our being - physical, mental, emotional and spiritual - and it must be healed at all of these levels. It is a wound so profound that its healing can only be accomplished with the Divine Healer, the Divine Mother. "Many among us have earthly flesh-and-blood mothers who do a remarkable job of embodying the Divine Mother's unconditional acceptance, deep compassion, and profound understanding. Though they may not do it perfectly, these true mothers bestow enough of that Divine Mother's essence to equip their daughters with a sense that they are worthy of being loved, that they are fundamentally good, and that their lives hold value and meaning. Armed with this conviction, those who bear no Mother Wound step into life better equipped to live into their own power. "But there are others-too many others-for whom the reflection of divine mothering is clouded, broken, or downright absent. Such an absence creates a primal wound, one that we can spend our lives trying to heal. They may struggle mightily to attain the love and acceptance that is their birthright, knocking again and again at the door of a heart that will not or cannot be opened to them. "In order to heal, the unmothered daughter must recognize that no earthly relationship has the power to fill the hole that is her first and deepest wound. Only the act of reclaiming relationship with the Divine Feminine has that power. To heal our primal wound, we must turn to the Prime Source. "This book is about that healing process. It is a testimony to possibility. I Am Her Daughter is a tale of one woman's experience and every woman's journey on that healing path. It contains profound and powerful wisdom, deep reassurance, and vibrant hope. "This book is for all of us. It is part prayer, part testimony, part spiritual teaching. But most importantly, this book shows the healing path to that joyful reunion, that precious reconnection with our original Mother, the one whose perfect love for us allows us to finally and completely love ourselves. And, being loved, to live fully in our own power." -from the Foreword"
Download or read book I m Just Happy to Be Here written by Janelle Hanchett and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2018-05-01 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A refreshingly raw, contrasting perspective on the foolproof idea of motherhood." -- POPSUGAR "By turns painful and funny... A searingly candid memoir." -- Kirkus "Far from your cookie-cutter story of addiction . . . [I'm Just Happy to Be Here] describes Hanchett's journey to recovery and sobriety in imperfect and unconventional ways." -- Bustle In this unflinching and wickedly funny memoir, Janelle Hanchett tells the story of finding her way home. And then, actually staying there. Drawing us into the wild, heartbreaking mind of the addict, Hanchett carries us from motherhood at 21 with a man she'd known three months to cubicles and whiskey-laden domesticity, from judging meth addicts in rehab to therapists who "seem to pull diagnoses out of large, expensive hats." With warmth, wit, and searing B.S. detectors turned mostly toward herself, Hanchett invites us to laugh when we probably shouldn't and to rejoice at the unconventional redemption she finds in desperation and in a misfit mentor who forces her to see the truth of herself. A story of ego and forced humility, of fierce honesty and jagged love, of the kind of failure that forces us to re-create our lives, Hanchett writes with rare candor, scorching the "sanctity of motherhood," and leaving beauty in the ashes.
Download or read book Narrative Performances of Mothering in South Asian Diasporic Fiction written by Sarah Knor and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-12-30 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining a range of South Asian Anglophone diasporic fiction and poetry, this monograph opens a new dialogue between diaspora studies and gender studies. It shows how discourses of diaspora benefit from re-examining their own critical relation to concepts of the maternal and the motherland. Rather than considering maternity as a fixed or naturally given category, it challenges essentialist conceptions and explores mothering as a performative practice which actively produces discursive meaning. This innovative approach also involves an investigation of central metaphors in nationalist and diasporic rhetorics, bringing critical attention to the strategies they employ and the unique aesthetic forms they produce.
Download or read book Revolutionary Mothering written by Alexis Pauline Gumbs and published by PM Press. This book was released on 2016-04-01 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inspired by the legacy of radical and queer black feminists of the 1970s and ’80s, Revolutionary Mothering places marginalized mothers of color at the center of a world of necessary transformation. The challenges we face as movements working for racial, economic, reproductive, gender, and food justice, as well as anti-violence, anti-imperialist, and queer liberation are the same challenges that many mothers face every day. Oppressed mothers create a generous space for life in the face of life-threatening limits, activate a powerful vision of the future while navigating tangible concerns in the present, move beyond individual narratives of choice toward collective solutions, live for more than ourselves, and remain accountable to a future that we cannot always see. Revolutionary Mothering is a movement-shifting anthology committed to birthing new worlds, full of faith and hope for what we can raise up together. Contributors include June Jordan, Malkia A. Cyril, Esteli Juarez, Cynthia Dewi Oka, Fabiola Sandoval, Sumayyah Talibah, Victoria Law, Tara Villalba, Lola Mondragón, Christy NaMee Eriksen, Norma Angelica Marrun, Vivian Chin, Rachel Broadwater, Autumn Brown, Layne Russell, Noemi Martinez, Katie Kaput, alba onofrio, Gabriela Sandoval, Cheryl Boyce Taylor, Ariel Gore, Claire Barrera, Lisa Factora-Borchers, Fabielle Georges, H. Bindy K. Kang, Terri Nilliasca, Irene Lara, Panquetzani, Mamas of Color Rising, tk karakashian tunchez, Arielle Julia Brown, Lindsey Campbell, Micaela Cadena, and Karen Su.
Download or read book Mother Truths Poems on Early Motherhood written by Karen McMillan and published by . This book was released on 2021-03-05 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mother Truths is a beautiful, funny, and raw collection of poetry about early motherhood. The perfect gift for expectant mothers and new mums.
Download or read book Bad Mother written by Ayelet Waldman and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2009-05-05 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In our mothers’ day there were good mothers, indifferent mothers, and occasionally, great mothers. Today we have only Bad Mothers: If you work, you’re neglectful; if you stay home, you’re smothering. If you discipline, you’re buying them a spot on the shrink’s couch; if you let them run wild, they will be into drugs by seventh grade. Is it any wonder so many women refer to themselves at one time or another as a “bad mother”? Writing with remarkable candor, and dispensing much hilarious and helpful advice along the way—Is breast best? What should you do when your daughter dresses up as a “ho” for Halloween?—Ayelet Waldman says it's time for women to get over it and get on with it in this wry, unflinchingly honest, and always insightful memoir on modern motherhood.
Download or read book Discovering the Inner Mother written by Bethany Webster and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-01-05 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sure to become a classic on female empowerment, a groundbreaking exploration of the personal, cultural, and global implications of intergenerational trauma created by patriarchy, how it is passed down from mothers to daughters, and how we can break this destructive cycle. Why do women keep themselves small and quiet? Why do they hold back professionally and personally? What fuels the uncertainty and lack of confidence so many women often feel? In this paradigm-shifting book, leading feminist thinker Bethany Webster identifies the source of women’s trauma. She calls it the Mother Wound—the systemic disenfranchisement of women by the patriarchy—and reveals how this cycle is perpetuated by wounded mothers who unconsciously pass on damaging beliefs and behaviors to their daughters. In her workshops, online courses, and talks, Webster has helped countless women re-examine their lives and their relationships with their mothers, giving them the vocabulary to voice their pain, and encouraging them to share their experiences. In this manifesto and self-help guide, she offers practical tools for identifying the manifestations of the Mother Wound in our daily life and strategies we can use to heal ourselves and prevent our daughters from enduring the same pain. In addition, she offers step-by-step advice on how to reconnect with our inner child, grieve the mother we didn’t have, stop people-pleasing, and, ultimately, transform our heartache and anger into healing and self-love. Revealing how women are affected by the Mother Wound, even if they don’t personally identify as survivors, Discovering the Inner Mother revolutionizes how we view mother-daughter relationships and gives us the inspiration and guidance we need to improve our lives and ultimately create a more equitable society for all.
Download or read book Mother nature written by Catherine M. Roach and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This brief but ambitious book explores our relationship with nature through the imagery we use when we talk about Mother Nature. Employing the critical tools of religious studies, psychology, and gender studies, Catherine M. Roach examines the various manifestations of nature as "mother" and what that idea implies for the way we approach the natural world. Part One, "Nature as Good Mother," discusses the notion that nature is, or is like, a beneficent and nurturing mother who provides and maintains life. In studying the "green" slogan "Love Your Mother," Roach questions the effects-for women and for the environment-of imputing female gender to nature. She asks us to look at the associations "motherhood" and "mothering" carry within a culture still shaped by patriarchy. She notes the danger of such an apparently pro-environmental slogan if "mother" evokes the bountiful, self-sacrificing provider who herself requires no care.Part Two, "Nature as Bad Mother," looks at the contrary notion of nature as a violent, threatening, and wrathful mother. This image arises most often when humans and technology are depicted as masters of unruly nature. Here Roach draws on theological reflection to analyze this ambivalence toward nature manifested in a fantasy that casts humans as gods. She explores the contributions of eco-theology and eco-psychology to a "heart of darkness" perspective. Finally, Part Three, "Nature as Hurt Mother," looks at possibilities and pitfalls of environmental healing inherent in the image of nature as a mother we have wounded and now seek to heal.ALSO OF INTEREST ECOFEMINISMWomen, Culture, NatureEdited by Karen J. Warren0-253-33031-9 HB £37.950-253-21057-7 PB £18.95
Download or read book Inferno written by Catherine Cho and published by Henry Holt and Company. This book was released on 2020-08-04 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice "Inferno is a disturbing and masterfully told memoir, but it’s also an important one that pushes back against powerful taboos. . ." --The New York Times Book Review "Explosive" --Good Morning America "Sublime" --Bookpage (starred review) When Catherine Cho and her husband set off from London to introduce their newborn son to family scattered across the United States, she could not have imagined what lay in store. Before the trip’s end, she develops psychosis, a complete break from reality, which causes her to lose all sense of time and place, including what is real and not real. In desperation, her husband admits her to a nearby psychiatric hospital, where she begins the hard work of rebuilding her identity. In this unwaveringly honest, insightful, and often shocking memoir Catherine reconstructs her sense of self, starting with her childhood as the daughter of Korean immigrants, moving through a traumatic past relationship, and on to the early years of her courtship with and marriage to her husband, James. She masterfully interweaves these parts of her past with a vivid, immediate recounting of the days she spent in the ward. The result is a powerful exploration of psychosis and motherhood, at once intensely personal, yet holding within it a universal experience – of how we love, live and understand ourselves in relation to each other.
Download or read book The Heroine s Journey written by Maureen Murdock and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2020-08-18 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book describes contemporary woman's search for wholeness in a society in which she has been defined according to masculine values. Drawing upon cultural myths and fairy tales, ancient symbols and goddesses, and the dreams of contemporary women, Murdock illustrates the need for—and the reality of—feminine values in Western culture today.
Download or read book So Glad They Told Me written by Jessica Smock and published by . This book was released on 2016-08-29 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Mothers Under Fire Mothering in Conflict Areas written by Tatjana Takseva and published by Demeter Press. This book was released on 2015-07-01 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Mothers Under Fire: Mothering in Conflict Areas” examines the experiences of women mothering in conflict areas. The aim of this collection is to engage with the nature and meaning of motherhood and mothering during times of war and/or in zones experiencing the threat of war. The essays in the collection reflect diverse disciplinary perspectives through which scholars and field practitioners reveal how conflict shapes mothering practices. One of the unique contributions of the collection is that it highlights not only the particular difficulties mothers face in various geographic locations where conflict has been prevalent, but also the ways in which mothers display agency to challenge and negotiate the circumstances that oppress them. The collection raises awareness of the needs of women and children in areas affected by military and/or political violence worldwide, and provides a basis for developing multiple policy frameworks aimed at improving existing systems of support in local contexts. —Kristen P. Williams, Clark University
