Mothermorphosis (ed by Monica Dux, MUP)

Australian women writers, including Kathy Lette, Kate Holden, Jo Case and Catherine Deveny, have contributed essays on their experiences of motherhood and birth to this collection. Edited by Monica Dux, Mothermorphosis covers all manner of maternal terrain: from single motherhood, to the deliberate choice to only have one child, from poignant recollections of the thrill of childbirth, to miscarriage, stillbirth and traumatic labour (George McEnroe’s frank account of her birthing team’s medical negligence, and her resulting near-fatal birth experience, is both nightmarish and intensely moving). The essays form a collective account of the impact of motherhood. Becoming a mother is a life-changing experience—but also, post-birth life goes on much the same as ever. Often, these two truths exist simultaneously. Several contributors to Mothermorphosis discuss the ways women are defined or refuse to be defined by their offspring, and challenge the cliché that a mother must passively sublimate her own life in order to raise a child. The fierceness of mother-love is rendered in all its glory, but there is no coy avoidance of reality, no pretence of saintly mothers and angelic infants. Readers who enjoyed Dux’s 2013 memoir Things I Didn’t Expect (When I Was Expecting) will find that Mothermorphosis offers similarly candid and bracing insights into motherhood.

Veronica Sullivan is online editor of Kill Your Darlings