From Amazon.com
In this tender memoir, author Maren Hansen vividly and humorously demonstrates how mothering overlaps with the divine. Hansen, who is a psychotherapist and an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, also has the gift of storytelling. As we follow the births of her three children, she deftly leads us through her stages of motherhood: the dismay of morning sickness, the ambivalence of amniocentesis, the hilarious post-birth waddling, the betrayal of the maiden babysitter, and the horrifying epiphany that her body has come to resemble that of the stout and ancient Venus of Willendorf. Always on the lookout for spiritual insight as well as a good laugh, Hansen offers mothers two of the most valuable tools of motherhood.
Review
"Neither a run-of-the-mill manual for new mothers nor a collection of amusing anecdotes about mothering, this book is instead a treasure-house of angry, poignant, fearful, ethereal and painful observations on the subject, revealing fascinating mythological parallels to the deeply personal experiences of present-day mothers. From assuming that she "knew what it meant to be a mother," to being "abducted" by the Great Mother Goddess into the realm of "the collective Feminine soul," California psychotherapist and former Unitarian minister Hansen guides readers through her own transition "from maiden to mother." Through three pregnancies and births that, she says, marked turning points in the growth, "death" and rebirth of her family. Hansen leaves no stone unturned, no topic taboo, no feeling unexamined. Many of the common experiences that women share but rarely talk about are illuminated by her bright focus. Equally brought to light is the succession of emotions she experienced during and after giving birth: her extremely painful first delivery, her unreadiness to leave the hospital after three days, her hypervigilance for her son's safety, her stress and rage after months of colic and, finally, her feelings of love and joy. This is a thoughtful, honest, wonder-filled exploration of one of life's most common, yet very special, spiritual paths."—Publishers Weekly
"Maren Hansen is nothing less than a multi-mythic momma. Hers is a brilliant, intuitive grasp of the essential myths of Mother/Goddess." —Jean Houston, author of A Mythic Life
