by Shaun Usher
First published 2020
Shaun Usher presents a curated collection of correspondence that reveals motherhood through the voices of writers, activists, and public figures. The letters span generations and backgrounds, from poet Sylvia Plath's personal reflections to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s family communications. Actress Laura Dern, playwright George Bernard Shaw, and author Louisa May Alcott contribute their perspectives alongside lesser known mothers. Each letter captures a different aspect of maternal experience: the comedian Caitlin Moran's humor, the sacrifices documented by war correspondent Martha Gellhorn, and the everyday wisdom found in correspondence from mothers to children and children to mothers. These authentic documents reveal both celebration and struggle, showing how the maternal role shapes relationships across time. The collection demonstrates that motherhood contains multitudes: frustration and fulfillment, grief and happiness, all expressed through the intimate medium of personal letters.
Genres: family, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century, 21st-century
176 pages · Paperback · Canongate Books