This Is Motherhood (A Motherly Collection of Reflections + Practices)

By Moms, for Moms—Redefining Motherhood for a New Generation

With This Is Motherhood, the cofounders and contributors of the Motherly online community present a collection of essays and practices to celebrate motherhood in all its complexity.

Here you’ll find reflections on each phase of "the wild ride of motherhood," including the soaring highs of meeting your new baby, the ground-shaking lows that make you doubt everything you’ve ever known, and all the beauty and pain in between. Each chapter closes with practices from Motherly’s team of wellness experts to help you define, clarify, process, and celebrate your journey.

This book was created to inspire and guide you through some of the most miraculous and stressful milestones of your life, such as:

• New Mama—get ready for the mysterious, unpredictable, and beautiful start to your new life as a mother
• Firsts—each step is brand new to you and your baby . . . and a chance to discover your way to learn and love
• Mental Load—even with the worries, the to-do lists, the midnight emergencies, you deserve time and attention, too
• Village—how to find the support that’s all around you, because you aren’t meant to do this alone
• Transformation—discover and embrace the powerful, loving, capable woman who’s been molded by motherhood

There are many ways to get motherhood right. It’s not your mother’s path or your sister’s path or that seemingly-perfect mom from your kid’s preschool’s path. It’s yours. You get to define—and redefine along the way—your experience of motherhood.

And you are not alone.

Each essay in This Is Motherhood is a letter to you, from one mama to another, to remind you that your feelings are normal. That you’re doing an amazing job. That you’re stronger than you even realize.

Most of all: You’ve got this, mama.