INSTA MAMA Author and mama-of-two Carolijn Braeken
@bycarolijn • bycarolijn.com
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Q Tell us about your book ‘Motherhood – a memoir of our first year’… What made you want to write it? A What I struggled most with during that first year of motherhood weren’t the countless diapers, the sleepless nights, the lack of metime – those practical things you read about in magazines, blogs, and on social media. I found the deeper layers the hardest. Losing and finding myself again, the fear, the insecurities, the overwhelming feeling of happiness – all strengthened by an enormous amount of hormones. What made it even harder was the thought I was the only mother feeling this way. I wasn’t depressed or anything, it was just hard from time to time. Really, really hard. I started writing about it, for myself, so the feelings and words wouldn’t be stuck in my head and heart any longer – as I always tend to do when times get rough. I started sharing bits and pieces of my feelings online, and soon I noticed that I really wasn’t the only mother experiencing the first year this way. I received tonnes of messages from women thanking me for putting their heartfelt feelings into words, telling me they showed my texts to their partners so that they would finally understand what was going on in their motherhearts. That’s when I knew I had to publish our story, to share it with the rest of the world, so that all those (new) mums out there would know those feelings of insecurity, doubt, and loneliness are normal, and most important: that they will go away. That they too will grow from an insecure, young mum into a strong, confident woman – just like I did. And that in the meantime, while being on that magical journey, they’re doing a great job.
PHOTO: JIMENA GAUNA
“I still get messages from other mothers thanking me for putting their feelings into words”
absolutely-mama.co.uk
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30/08/2020 20:44
