I was browsing the isles of my local library a couple of weeks ago when I came across a book that stopped me in my tracks. I think I probably stood and stared at its binding for a good five minutes before picking it up off the shelf. Any other day, I would have probably put it back, but this day, I it must have called to me. A few pages in, and I was glad to have been listening.
Motherless Daughters, written by Hope Edelman has been around ever since 1994. How could I have not known about this book? How could I have not been aware that, across the lands, many motherless daughters support groups have been gathering. Maybe, because in dealing with trauma, there are some forms of trauma that are acknowledged and dealt with on deeper levels. Just a couple of chapters in, and this book, what it has already revealed to me about being a motherless daughter, has gone to work on me. Its almost like my true self is being unmasked and explained to me for the very first time in my life.
Motherless Daughters is written from the viewpoint of having lost a mother in childhood or adolescence. This is the first time, written or otherwise, that I've engaged in or with conversation about mother loss that encompasses my own experience. Lossing a mother at any age is life changing, but to have a mother plucked away before she's been able to teach, to befriend, to comfort and nurture... that, so I've realized, is the straw that can break a daughter's back. As I work my way through this book, a weath of emotions become present - sadness, anger, empathy, relief - hopefully arriving at a the end of this book with a more genuine comprehension of the little girl within.
