Not Keeping Mum: Australian Writers Tell the Truth about Perinatal Anxiety and Depression in Poetry, Fiction and Essay

"Heartfelt, at times confronting and occasionally funny, this collection gives insight into how women navigate the profound changes that occur in their bodies, relationships and lives when they become a parent, and how they find the light at the end of the tunnel."-- Anne Buist, perinatal psychiatrist, professor of women's mental health and author of the Natalie King trilogy and The Long ShadowA couple nervously anticipating the arrival of their first child find themselves in a café...
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"Heartfelt, at times confronting and occasionally funny, this collection gives insight into how women navigate the profound changes that occur in their bodies, relationships and lives when they become a parent, and how they find the light at the end of the tunnel."-- Anne Buist, perinatal psychiatrist, professor of women's mental health and author of the Natalie King trilogy and The Long ShadowA couple nervously anticipating the arrival of their first child find themselves in a café where time seems to stand still. A depressed and vengeful single mother posts her former partner a surprise gift. An anxious new mum sets out to find the mythical 'mum tribe', but discovers something different and more useful. A first-time mums' group confronts the ultimate first-time mum fear (and rite of passage): dropping the baby!Perinatal mental health conditions, including anxiety and depression, are common illnesses affecting mothers and fathers during pregnancy and the first years following a birth. But they're rarely spoken about openly, honestly and in depth. This unflinching collection of writing reveals these silenced parts of parenting, exploring the intense and sometimes contradictory emotions experienced during the process of bringing a child into the world.Whether you are a mother or father (or have one), whether you are someone who has experienced mental illness or simply known the madness of a deep and complex love, you are sure to find something of yourself in these essays, poems and stories.All profits from the sale of this book go to PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia).