Australia's First University Press

Mothermorphosis

Australian Storytellers Write About Becoming a Mother

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Beaming with joy. A natural mother.
Worst Mother. Best mother. Guilt-ridden.
Incompetent. Exhausted.


The mythology of motherhood is often reduced to cliché. But how do we articulate the complex internal conflicts, the exhilaration and the absurdity of this transformation?

Mothermorphosis is a collection of essays on the experience as told by some of Australia's most talented writers and storytellers.

In these stories we read about the yearning for a child, the private and public expressions of love, identity in the face of motherhood, gratitude, pride, celebration and loss.

Ultimately we learn that there is no one version of this epic story, no one tale that could ever speak for all, and no one way of encapsulating the experience. However, in reading other women's experiences, the hard bits, the ridiculous bits, we can only become more compassionate, not just to other mothers but hopefully to ourselves.


Monica Dux

About The Author

Monica Dux is a writer and social commentator. She can be heard regularly on ABC radio and 3RRR, and has published widely, especially on women’s issues. In 2008 she co-authored The Great Feminist Denial.

In an earlier life Monica studied and taught history at the University of Melbourne, where she was the founding editor of…

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