Book #73: The Mother in Me

Title: The Mother in Me: Real-World Reflections on Growing into Motherhood
Editor: Kathryn Lynard Soper

A collection of essays and poems about the process of becoming a mother, and the change of identity that goes along with it.

Ok, first of all a disclaimer: The essays and poems in The Mother in Me were written by women associated with the literary magazine Segullah, and as the Assistant Features Editor, I already had lots of respect for the authors.

But I have lots more now. In the beginning the women of Segullah made me want to be a better writer. Then they made me want to be a better Christian. Now they're making me want to be a better mother. I can't tell you how much I wish someone had put this book in my hands seven years ago, when I had a one-year-old who made me feel like a total failure and I was pregnant and wondering what the heck I was doing bringing another child into the world when I couldn't handle the one I already had. I felt so alone-- I chose to be a SAHM, left a good job and a satisfying academic career in order to do what was best for my kids, and I felt like just about anyone would do a better job of raising this kid than I was doing. I assumed that everyone else had it all together and I was the only one who felt like I couldn't hack it. Now I know I wasn't alone. Every new mom should read this book. Every mom in the trenches should read this book. Every mom who can already breathe a sigh of relief from the intensity of raising babies and preschoolers should read this book (if just to feel grateful that the stage has passed). So basically everyone should read this book. So follow this link (or this one) and buy it. Please. Because one of my essays is going to be included in the upcoming second volume, so I also have a personal stake in hoping this one does well.