Mothershift: Reclaiming Motherhood as a Rite of Passage

Nautilus Book Awards Gold Winner

Explore this supportive, grounding guide for new mothers navigating the cascade of identity change and transformation that is motherhood.

Our modern, Western societal understanding of what happens to a woman when she becomes a mother—beyond emotional rollercoasters and healing her pelvic floor—remains largely uncharted territory. The transition to motherhood actually takes two to three years, not six weeks or three months as we’ve been led to believe. Mothershift offers a supportive, affirming road map to take women through this transformational process.

Jessie Harrold introduces her “map for your becoming,” a research-based, four-phase model that maps out how the transition to motherhood unfolds and helps women to navigate every step along the way. She has used this model to guide thousands of women through the shift into motherhood. Harrold also includes self-inquiry questions and journal prompts in each chapter to help women identify and thrive amidst the cascade of changes they can expect as they enter motherhood. Topics include:

• Normalizing the feelings of grief and loss of self you may feel along the way.
• Navigating the discomfort of not knowing who you are anymore now that you’re a mother.
• Guiding you to cultivate a sense of empowerment and leadership in motherhood, showing you how mothering is a counterculture act.
• Showing you how to use the “superpowers” that motherhood can offer—self-tending, creativity, embodiment, ritual, community, inner knowing, and earth connection.
• Gently guiding you to explore who you are becoming.