Literary Mama
I get asked many times, “How do you do it all”? Well, really, how does any mother or father do it? We take it one step at a time. We absorb every delicious memory and yet yearn to be our normal selves in the chaos of everyday parenting where our children can tend to suck our energy from us. With that in mind, it is refreshing to find the book, ” Literary Mama ” which is edited by an online friend of mine, Andrea J. Buchanan and Amy Hudock. The book was compiled from a featured collection of the best of LiteraryMama.comThis book holds a compilation of short stories and poems written by many mothers. They give you a peek into the window of their lives which includes the beauty and frustrations of motherhood. They share with you their memories, their children’s unforgettable moments, and their spousal relationships through the metamorphasis of parenting babies until their children leave the nest. The stories range from serious to humorous showing the true feelings of the writers.
“Literary Mama” is divided into sections which include:
1. Creative Arts
2. Mothers Raising Women, Defining Mothering
3. Mothers Raising Men, Exploring Mothering
4. Sex, Fertility, and the Body
5. Mothers, Fathers, Parents
6. Surviving Illness and Loss
7. Healing the Past to Live in the Present
It is inspiring to read the stories in this book. I felt I wanted to work hard to become a better writer. We really aren’t alone with our parenting anxieties and successes.
You can read the “Introduction” for the book - Click Here
One story I recall, talked about how a nursing mother would get “touched out” or overstimulated from nursing. The baby would look up at his mother and grab the breast and say “MINE!”. While weaning the baby, she mentioned going out on a date with her husband. They were relaxing by dancing and drinking. Quoting the story…
“My husband is pushed into me from behind, and I don’t push him back. He wraps his arms around my chest and yells something into my ear, but his words hit my neck instead. I shiver.
“What?” I yell back at him, the music pulsing through me like long-lost hormones and desires.
“Mine,” he teases huskily, his lips on my ear, his hand discreetly grabbing my breast.
For the first time in a long time it makes me hot, instead of not. And for the first time in a long time, I know I am my own to give.
I giggle and tease him back. “No way,” I say, turning my lips to his as we move together to the music. “Mine.”
When I was a nursing mother, my husband and I can relate to that story. 
There is a sad story where a mother expresses her grief and guilt for not being able to warn another mother about how dangerous it is to let her daughter walk alone along side a road. It is a struggle that all mothers have to deal with. Mothers don’t want to overstep their bounds to tell fellow moms that they may be doing something wrong. However, the daughter who walked alone on the road ended up going missing.
“Literary Mama” is a keeper for any mom’s book collection. Grab a copy, cozy up with a hot drink, and enjoy the stories. I would love to know what you think.