Unraveling Motherhood

Book excerpt: A unique exploration of the transformative experience of motherhood delving into its mental and emotional impact. Unraveling Motherhood includes conversations and real insights about maternal mental health, identity, vulnerabilities, and more for anyone who is lost in the blur of the voices in their minds, the overload, and the overwhelm. In this honest, reflective and relatable book, journalist and mother of two Geraldine Walsh includes a motivational toolkit for anyone navigating motherhood. Birthed from her own varying experiences of mental well-being, Geraldine Walsh discusses aspects of motherhood all pertaining to how one untangles this role. Unraveling Motherhood finds a balance between research, personal experiences, and workable processes that will leave readers feeling validated. Included within its chapters are helpful insights on how to look at situations differently and listen to one's mind in appropriate ways, along with added discussions with psychologists, exercises and journaling. Key discussion topics include: How to handle expectations vs. the reality of motherhood Managing wellness and mental health during the early months/years Developing healthy habits for proper and holistic self-compassion Learning to reconcile identity before motherhood to the one afterwards Identifying ‘outside influences’ (culture, friends/family, media, etc.) which affect how you evaluate yourself as a mother Unraveling Motherhood considers motherhood as a tightly woven knot of physical, mental, emotional and social changes... and then seeks to unravel that knot. Unraveling is good; stitching up is better—but when the pattern is not working out the way we were hoping, we must first unravel to start again.