The motherhood identity crisis is the internal questioning that happens after you start having children. “Who am I?” and “What do I want?” are fundamental questions that need to be answered for you to continue operating as the woman you want to be.
Being a mother is perhaps the most important job that you will ever have. But you may find yourself longing for your career as it can provide another sense of purpose. The first year and the maternity leave period (however long you take) is a time where you might feel incredibly lonely and isolated, leading many to experience an identity crisis.
Your life changes so significantly in just an instant. It is hard to remember who you used to be before you became a mother, and you may feel guilty as you have a longing for your old life.
This is normal and there is even a term for it ‘matrescence’ - it just isn’t spoken about as much as it should be.
Join us to hear from author of Hush, and mum of two, Kate Maxwell for an inspiring and insightful discussion on the great identity crisis in early motherhood. Kate's debut novel, Hush, about a woman who swaps a glamorous life in New York for solo parenthood in London, was inspired by her own experiences of maternity leave, and the gap between her expectations of motherhood and the reality. Hush has just come out in paperback and audiobook, published by Virago.
In this session we will cover topics including:
How to navigate the feelings around identity that can arise during maternity leave.
The depiction of motherhood and the ‘mother’ figure in fiction.
Using maternity leave as a time to change direction professionally.
Q&A
Please note you no do not have to have read the book to enjoy this talk, but we will cover wider themes from the book.
Kate Maxwell read English at Oxford University and has worked as a journalist and editor in London and New York. Hush is her first novel and was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize Peggy Chapman-Andrews Award. She lives in London with her husband and children.
Longing to have a child, Stevie changes her Manhattan career-oriented life for single parenthood in her native England in Maxwell’s powerful, nuanced meditation on the struggles experienced by new mothers.
After five exhilarating years in New York, Stevie has a successful career and a glamorous social life. But what she most wants is a baby, an aspiration that feels impossible given that she is single, thirty-eight and living in a tiny apartment in Manhattan, far away from most of her family in England.
Determined to become a mother, Stevie returns to London and has a baby on her own. When she gives birth to Ash, she finds motherhood painfully at odds with her former life and her expectations. She begins to wonder if having a child was a mistake - and what she might be willing to do to escape. As she struggles with what her future might hold, revelations from the past change everything she believed about family and love.
'A richly textured, exciting, and mysterious debut novel showing the push and pull of motherhood, career identity and what it means to be a woman with multiple sides. Relatable and entertaining. I was absolutely glued to it' - Emma Gannon, author of Olive
'A vivid, compelling story about the unspoken truths of motherhood, family, and feminine ideals. Tender, unflinching and beautifully evoked' - Francesca Hornak, author of Seven Days of Us
You can order your copy here and the audio version is available here.
There will also be copies available to purchase on the day.
Key Information:
Tickets include tea, coffee, and light refreshments.
Arrivals at 10am with the talk beginning at 10.30 and finishing by midday. All guests are welcome to stay and relax after the talk.
Babies welcome (up to pre-walking stage).
Photographer present (please advise if you would prefer not to be photographed).
Venue: The event will take place at Crouch End Picturehouse. There is lift access in the venue to all levels and it is a baby friendly space.