Memo No.028
TO: ANYONE WHO CAN IDENTIFY WITH HOW MOTHERHOOD CHANGES YOU
FROM: Molly Duncan
DATE:
SUBJECT: A TOUCHING READ THAT OFFERS A RAW, TENDER REFLECTION ON THE ROLE
I bought a copy of My Wild and Sleepless Nights before having Eden but never braved opening it out of fear it would stir up unnecessary anxieties before I was officially postpartum--and a parent. At the start of this year, however, I felt ready to digest what Stroud had to say. I'm pleased to report it's incredibly poignant and balances the bliss and hardships beautifully.
Getting dressed, and other morning routines, often shift on the schedule in this stage.
It's something I'll turn back to as I think it would strike a chord with moms in all stages -- those like me to empty-nester grandmothers yearning for a raw reflection on the many things they felt in the thick of it all. Below is a passage that stood out and illustrates some of this:
"If I had a big accident, or I'd been mugged and had precious things taken from me, I would talk about it. But we don't talk about the things motherhood takes away from us in this way.
And the thoughts and freedoms we lose when we become mothers are invisible
because what we gain --
the love that defines our relationships
with these golden children
is so huge."
CLOVER STROUD
