Motherhood Missed

Author: Lois Tonkin
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN: 1784506591
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Book Description
Many women expect to become mothers but are childless through social rather than biological reasons - perhaps they haven't met the right person or they prioritised career or education earlier in life. Featuring international interviews by grief counsellor and researcher Lois Tonkin, this collection of first-person stories provides insight into the under-discussed situation of being childless by circumstance. Each story highlights the different aspects of being childless by circumstance, as women move through their 30s, 40s, and 50s, and beyond their ages of fertility. The book explores feelings of grief and loss, and also how women adapt positively to their changed life expectations, finding excitement in the alternative, rich and complex shapes their lives have taken.

Honoring Missed Motherhood

Author: In Collaboration with Barbara Comstock
Publisher: Willow Press
ISBN: 9780996704427
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 152

Book Description
The absence of a child or loss of a pregnancy is a void and, frequently, a profound loss experienced as a failure, a lack, a shame, something that needs to be fixed or hidden, even when it is a choice. For the most part, there is no frame, no structure, no rituals, no celebration, no acknowledgment, often even no words. It has no name, no category. The pain, loneliness and awkwardness can be unimaginable until it happens to you.What if "not children" isn't really that unusual? What if the vast majority of women have had, are having, or will have some experience of what we call missed motherhood in their lifetime, whether or not they ever have children?Based on available statistics, it appears that is the case-that as many as 75% of women in America have had or will have one or more experiences of missed motherhood at some time in their lives through miscarriage, adoption, abortion, infertility or the choice to be childfree. This is a stunning percentage! If this is true, the experience of missed motherhood appears to be as common an experience as being a mother. As a society, we need to name and include missed motherhood as part of the cultural norm, to bring it out into the open and offer effective steps for grieving and healing that go beyond what each woman can accomplish on her own. When we do this, each of us can move forward in life with passion and enthusiasm.

Mother Hunger

Author: Kelly McDaniel
Publisher: Hay House, Inc
ISBN: 1401960863
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 249

Book Description
An insatiable need for sex and love. Periods of overeating or starving. A pattern of unstable and painful relationships. Does this sound painfully familiar? Trauma counselor Kelly McDaniel has seen these traits over and over in clients who feel trapped in cycles of harmful behaviors-and are unable to stop. Many of us find ourselves stuck in unhealthy habits simply because we don't see a better way. With Mother Hunger, McDaniel helps women break the cycle of destructive behavior by taking a fresh look at childhood trauma and its lasting impact. In doing so, she destigmatizes the shame that comes with being under-mothered and misdiagnosed. McDaniel offers a healing path with powerful tools that include therapeutic interventions and lifestyle changes in service to healthy relationships. The constant search for mother love can be a lifelong emotional burden, but healing begins with knowing and naming what we are missing. McDaniel is the first clinician to identify Mother Hunger, which demystifies the search for love and provides the compass that each woman needs to end the struggle with achy, lonely emptiness, and come home to herself.

Lost in Motherhood: The Memoir of a Woman who Gained a Baby and Lost Her Sh*t

Author: Grace Timothy
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0008271011
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 230

Book Description
Previously published as Mum Face. Best described as The Wrong Knickers for mums, in this wry, resonant and darkly funny memoir, journalist Grace Timothy explores motherhood as an issue of identity.

Motherhood Lost

Author: Linda L. Layne
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135222231
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 372

Book Description
Nearly 20% of all pregnancies in the U.S. end in miscarriage or stillbirth. Yet pregnancy loss is seldom acknowledged and rarely discussed. Opening the topic to a thoughtful and informed discussion, Linda Layne takes a historical look at pregnancy loss in America, reproductive technologies and the cultural responses surrounding miscarriage. Examining both support groups and the rituals they create to help couples through loss, her analysis offers valuable insight on how material culture contributes to conceptions of personhood. A fascinating examination, Motherhood Lost is also a provocative challenge to feminists and other activists to increase awareness and provide necessary support for this often hidden but critically important topic.

The Emotionally Absent Mother, Second Edition: How to Recognize and Cope with the Invisible Effects of Childhood Emotional Neglect (Second)

Author: Jasmin Lee Cori
Publisher: The Experiment, LLC
ISBN: 1615193839
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 353

Book Description
The groundbreaking guide to self-healing and getting the love you missed “Years ago, I was on vacation and read The Emotionally Absent Mother. That book was one of many that woke me up. . . . I began the process of reparenting and it’s changed my life.”—Dr. Nicole LePera, New York Times–bestselling author of How to Do the Work Was your mother preoccupied, distant, or even demeaning? Have you struggled with relationships—or with your own self-worth? Often, the grown children of emotionally absent mothers can’t quite put a finger on what’s missing from their lives. The children of abusive mothers, by contrast, may recognize the abuse—but overlook its lasting, harmful effects. Psychotherapist Jasmin Lee Cori has helped thousands of men and women heal the hidden wounds left by every kind of undermothering. In this second edition of her pioneering book, with compassion for mother and child alike, she explains: Possible reasons your mother was distracted or hurtful—and what she was unable to give The lasting impact of childhood emotional neglect and abuse How to find the child inside you and fill the “mother gap” through reflections and exercises How to secure a happier future for yourself (and perhaps for your children).

Spectrum Women—Autism and Parenting

Author: Renata Jurkevythz
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN: 178775295X
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 210

Book Description
This book looks at what it feels like to be an autistic parent, offering valuable insights, knowledge and wisdom on parenting autistic and non-autistic children. Three mothers reflect on their experiences of growing up as undiagnosed autistics, venturing into and embracing motherhood, and connecting with their children in a unique and powerful way. They offer advice on overcoming the challenges of parenting when you are autistic, such as socialising with other parents or sensory issues that come with excessive touch. Reflecting on their own experiences, they also emphasize the positives of being an autistic parent to an autistic child, such as understanding of why their child is struggling or the open-mindedness that can come from not being constrained by societal norms. They also explain how out-of-the-box thinking leads to creative parenting of non-autistic children, forming strong and loving bonds. Full of wit and warm advice, this book empowers autistic parents and reassures them that autism is a strength in raising their children with love, knowledge and experience, while also giving non-autistic parents and professionals a fresh perspective on helping autistic children to thrive.

Otherhood

Author: Melanie Notkin
Publisher: Seal Press
ISBN: 1580055222
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Book Description
This “essential read” (Gretchen Rubin) from the author of Savvy Auntie tells the funny, sexy, and sometimes heartbreaking stories of today's well-educated, successful women who expected love, marriage, and children, but instead find themselves in the “Otherhood” as their fertile years wane. More American women are childless than ever before—nearly half those of childbearing age don’t have children. While our society often assumes these women are “childfree by choice,” that’s not always true. In reality, many of them expected to marry and have children, but it simply hasn’t happened. Wrongly judged as picky or career-obsessed, they make up the “Otherhood,” a growing demographic that has gone without definition or visibility until now. In Otherhood, author Melanie Notkin reveals her own story as well as the honest, poignant, humorous, and occasionally heartbreaking stories of women in her generation—women who expected love, marriage, and parenthood, but instead found themselves facing a different reality. She addresses the reasons for this shift, the social and emotional impact it has on our collective culture, and how the “new normal” will affect our society in the decades to come. Notkin aims to reassure women that they are not alone and encourages them to find happiness and fulfillment no matter what the future holds. A groundbreaking exploration of an essential contemporary issue, Otherhood inspires thought-provoking conversation and gets at the heart of our cultural assumptions about single women and childlessness.

The Mother of All Jobs

Author: Christine Armstrong
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472956230
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Book Description
The Mother of All Jobs is about the battle to make modern working parenting actually work. If not for our own sanity, then perhaps for our children's. Have you ever looked at the lengthy school holiday dates and silently screamed in desperation? Have you gone part time yet are still doing a full-time workload? Have you ever been too afraid to ask about maternity benefits or flexible working? Do you constantly feel guilty about missing school events and secretly envious of other mums at the school gates who seem to be doing it all better than you? If any (or all) of the above rings true for you, you are NOT alone. While the demands of work are increasing with longer working hours and more pressure to remain 'switched on' to our phones and computers, the needs of our children and the world of school and childcare have stayed the same. Something has got to change before we all reach breaking point. The Mother of All Jobs brings together the wisdom of women who opened up about their experiences into a manifesto to help working parents thrive.

The Magic of Motherhood

Author: Ashlee Gadd
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 031008461X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Book Description
Are you an imperfect, trying-her-best mom? If you're over reading parenting advice, The Magic of Motherhood should be your next read. Motherhood can often feel overwhelming and isolating. Your feelings swing between joy and uncertainty, intense love and anxiety, laughter and tears. Ashlee Gadd and the writers behind the popular blog Coffee + Crumbs have written a beautiful reminder of your identity, both as a woman and a mother. The Magic of Motherhood is a curated collection of honest stories weaving together the love, joy, and magnificent heartache of motherhood. Instead of offering advice, the writers offer something even better: their hearts. You'll read essays about identity, adoption, body image, miscarriage, friendship, faith, and more. After reading, mothers will: Find joy in both beauty and mess Discover a renewed strength and sisterhood Be reassured that they are not alone Want to gift this book on Mother's Day, birthdays, baby showers, National Best Friend Day, and other holidays New and seasoned moms will enjoy The Magic of Motherhood. This book is a love letter to mothers everywhere. Essays from Ashlee Gadd of Coffee + Crumbs and its contributors will provide solidarity for all moms.