Between Interruptions: Thirty Women Tell the Truth About Motherhood edited by Cori HowardKey Porter Books, 2008
Nonfiction; 328 pgs
Being a new mother, I jumped on the opportunity to read
Between Interruptions: Thirty Women Tell the Truth About Motherhood when approached to be a part of the
TLC Book Tour. I am eager to read about other mothers' experiences, especially honest ones. In part, I'm seeking out stories that are similar to my own, ones I can relate to so that I know what I'm experiencing is normal--or some semblance of normal at least. For another, I can't help but feel a special bond with other mothers, and I am curious about their stories just as much as my own.
It is easy to talk--and write--about the light and fluffy side of parenthood. About the smiles and milestones reached. It is even easy to joke about bowel movements and leaky breasts. It isn't so easy, however, to talk about the realities, including and especially the struggles of the entry into motherhood. I suppose that is one reason why I found myself clinging to the essays in
Between Interruptions. Here were women telling it like it is, saying what I have been wanting to say--but not sure how.
It seems as if this topic has been popping up everywhere these days--in books, the media and around the blogosphere. I wish I'd thought to look for a book like this early on. I might not have felt so isolated and alone. I did talk a little about my own experience early on with Postpartum Depression last summer both on
this blog and at
Tales from the Toybox. Although, even then, I wasn't quite ready to go into too much detail. It's still difficult for me to talk about.
Between Interruptions offers several different perspectives of motherhood as the contributing writers share their personal stories with the reader. We hear from working mothers and stay at home moms as well as mothers of non-traditional families as they talk about their experiences finding friends, adjusting to work or staying at home, breastfeeding, dealing with anxiety (both general and specific), infertility, and having a child with special needs--among other things. The contributing writers pull no punches. They share their experiences and feelings, offering a real glimpse of the obstacles they have encountered as well as the joys.
The stories of new mothers in the workforce especially touched home for me. I may not have quite as glamorous a job as some of the writers who contributed to the book, but I understand the internal conflicts of being a working mom, of needing (or wanting) to work and of leaving my child in someone else's care. I still sometimes breakdown in my car after saying goodbye to my daughter after our lunch time visits some seven months later. Leaving her in the mornings as she still sleeps in her crib hurts my heart. It makes the mornings I am there when she wakes up, a smile lighting her face, all the more special.
The section on guilt had me in tears, I confess. It hit so close to home: Postpartum Depression, pressures surrounding breast feeding, postpartum sex, and dealing with feelings of inadequacies and jealousy. I could have written any three of those essays. I saw myself in each of them. It was a relief to read stories of other woman who had gone through what I am going through.
I do not think any book about motherhood is complete without touching on non-traditional families. I work with a number of single mothers and have friends in same sex relationships with kids. I also know parents who have adopted children--I even assisted in a few adoptions myself. So, I was glad to see essays devoted to such mothers as well.
One of my favorite essays in the collection was one by Joy Kogawa and her daughter Deidre Kogawa-Canute:
Comparing Notes: A Conversation Between Mother and Daughter. The two carried on a conversation about motherhood, the patterns carried down through generations, and about their own expectations and feelings about being a mother and daughter and how our actions impact each other. There was quite a lot packed into their conversation. It was clear the two didn't always get along, and yet the openness with which they shared such a conversation with each other makes if obvious that they respect and love each other very much.
Even with the difficulties many of these mothers faced, one thing shines through in all the essays. The mothers' love for their children and their desire to give them the best life they know how. I came away from the novel feeling a pride I had yet to feel as a mother, feeling stronger somehow.
I hope you will check out what others had to say on the TLC Book Tours route!Note: The print copy version of the book can only
be purchased through the author's website. An e-copy can be purchased through Amazon and other vendors.
To learn more about Cori Howard, editor of Between Interruptions and founder of The Momoir Project, an online writing centre for moms who want to learn to document their own stories, please visit the Please visit the Momoir Project website.
Many thanks to the TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to be a part of this book tour. E-Book for review provided by the editor.
