It has been a while. I was writing a book. And yes I forget but of course we have been in a lockdown/pandemic. I hope you have all been ok. As well as you can be. It has been a tough time for everyone so I am not going to dwell on it.
But it has been intense. Intensely mothering, writing, working all through it while trying to maintain some semblance of normality through it all.
Good news
I will start with some good news. Besides the bookshops, hairdressers, restaurants and pubs opening. And, schools! Well, here in England at least.
My next book ‘[M]OTHERHOOD: On the choices of being a woman’ is out on 3 June with Canongate. I am excited but also nervous about it. I can’t wait for people to read it, but also apprehensive about baring the most intimate parts of my life to everyone.
You can see the gorgeous cover and some of the most fantastic quotes from people. I am blown away by their reaction.
This is a book about motherhood. And the shapes it takes.
This is a book about bodies. And how some are less than the sum of their parts.
This is a book about choices. The roads we follow, and those we are not allowed to walk.
Pre-orders really help, as you perhaps know by now, especially right now. I have been consciously trying to support authors and creatives, and tell people that I appreciate their work and what they bring to the world. Because if these last few months have taught as something, it is that time is short, and we sometimes don’t get the chance to tell people what they mean to us, even if we have never met them in real life.
There have been losses and so much grief recently (my own father passed away in November 5000 miles away from me). And I hope this book, while talking about some tough subjects will also bring some joy, because as Laura Bates summed up so beautifully about (M)OTHERHOOD: ‘…ultimately it is about love.’
Instagram account
Bear with me. I can almost feel a collective sigh and eye-roll right now. But honestly I would love it if you could join in with this latest account that I started where I want to document some of the research from this book, and lots that didn’t make it into the book (a LOT could not because of space and narrative consistency). And, I am focussing on visual representations of womanhood and otherhood, of language that often excludes us, and creates shame and stigma and an othering of our own selves, where we feel like we don’t belong in these bodies.
I would love it if you join and share.
I want to use this newsletter in the next few weeks to bring book recommendations, to talk about something that I regularly highlight on my twitter and instagram accounts in more detail, and create a platform for discussion about what really makes a woman. And I am also going to bring some interviews with people (women) I admire hugely, some of whom are mothers, some not, some are writers, some not. But they all are creating a beautiful world for us, where we do not just drift passively but become active agents, simmering and sparkling.
I would love for you to add in comments here a few lines about how the last few months have been for you. And if you’re interested in writing something for this newsletter about your experience as a woman, any bias you might have faced, anything that might have stopped you in your tracks or even anything that has made you angry OR joyous, let me know in the comments too as I want to highlight people’s voices and stories through this as much as possible.
With lots of love,
Pragya