Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood

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Amazing book - one of the first books I’ve read that contains really convincing accounts of pregnancy and early motherhood written by someone who gets it. As it deepens our understanding of matrescence, it raises vital questions about motherhood and femininity; interdependence and individual identity; as well as about our relationships with each other and the living world. Lucy Jones has also brought a very interesting theory - feminism has helped us break the glass ceiling at work, but overall motherhood remains bereft, and till date all data supports that the mother continues to be the more primary caregiver - In addition to having equal load of work in the office as males. Yet the focus remains on individual responsibility, maintaining the illusion that we are impermeable, impenetrable machines, disconnected from the world around us.

That is not this book, though, and even for mothers who found matrescence a smoother experience, there is much to be gleaned as Jones skilfully elucidates the monumental shifts it brings, from the foetal cells that remain in a mother’s body for decades to evidence that pregnancy and birth has a dramatic, long-term impact on the brain that may even be permanent. Fast forward ten years after graduation and having children is leading to huge numbers of women suffering PPD as they go through matrescence essentially alone after millennia of our ancestors doing it communally and with what we would see now as extensive familial support. The author’s raw, honest and open memoirs gave me a sense of peace, that I wasn’t alone in many of the experiences I’ve been presented with in transitioning to motherhood.What I found instead was a boundary-pushing book that is altogether tricksier, more complex and creative, transcending even the “part-memoir, part-critical analysis” genre that has become such a commonplace format for female authors in recent years. I find myself inwardly cheering at one point when another mother describes how “insipid/idealistic portrayals of motherhood made me less interested in it as a young person. Jones's lyrical, compassionate exploration of the ever-shifting boundaries of selfhood that evolved within our interconnected biosphere, confronts today's societal demands for individual autonomy, culminating in a passionate and powerful maternal roar for change. Feminism owes a great debt to the women who smell smoke, and societal assumptions about unmedicated birth, breastfeeding, and intensive mothering continue to harm women’s mental and physical health daily.

A take-no-prisoners tour-de-force, providing insightful criticism of every social/cultural paradigm surrounding pregnancy/birth/breastfeeding/motherhood in the West.For, as Lucy shows us so tenderly and luminously; we are more finely interwoven than we've been led to believe; more animal than we might ordinarily take ourselves for. We pay respect by giving voice to social justice, acknowledging our shared history and valuing the cultures of First Nations. In reflecting on her own experiences, and speaking with experts, she has become passionate about fostering open discussion about the pain and risk of childbirth, and how to mitigate them. The literary touches – lists and word clouds, verse-like meditations and flash vignettes about natural phenomena – are not always successful, but there is a thrill to seeing Jones experimenting.

We specialise in hard to find and international magazine titles including Apartamento, L'Étiquette, Popeye and Gentlewoman along with a range of fiction and non-fiction books from a wide range of independent publishers. By the time I'd read the first chapter, I'd resolved to take my son into the woods every afternoon over winter. Thank you to the author - a book unlike anything I’ve read before on motherhood, and one that many women will not only relate to, but will also benefit from reading. It’s a transition period, like adolescence, that involves radical physical and mental changes and has lasting effects.

She discusses a ritual in the Pacific island of Tikopia that marks the fact that a woman has given birth, and prioritises “the sense of the newborn mother”, rather than erasing her entirely around her child. I would advise against reading it during pregnancy if you're someone who prefers to focus on the positive side of things. Lucy Jones has raised so many issues, concerns, thoughts - which I had when I was early into Matrescence and thought maybe I was crazy.

We don't talk about the hidden realities of the biological, social and psychological effects of matrescence nearly enough.

The best book I've ever read about motherhood' Jude Rogers, Observer 'I kept scribbling in the margins: 'We need to know this stuff! Beautifully written book that truly feels like it was written as a response to every single question, emotion and thought I've had since becoming a mother. You'll marvel, wince and want to take to the streets after reading Lucy Jones sweeping and courageous multidisciplinary survey of the motherlands. The only thing that didn’t make sense to me was the undertone of “I had no idea that motherhood was difficult! There is a trap for any critic reviewing books about motherhood who is also a mother: the trap of “this is not how it was for me”.