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The Mask of Motherhood: How becoming a mother changes our lives and why we never talk about it by Susan Maushart (Penguin Books, 1999)
A provocative and direct response to motherhood and its attendant changes, this book gives voice to all of the unspoken stresses, disappointments, challenges, and struggles that women face during motherhood. Maushart attempts to address the myths and mystiques surrounding motherhood, making real the depth of pain, shame, fear, and guilt that many women experience, yet keep secret. She contends that the “mask of motherhood” that women wear as they navigate their way through their social and familial worlds serves as a means of self-preservation, a way of convincing one’s self that motherhood is going well by assuring others that this is so. In turn, each woman unknowingly perpetuates the myth that motherhood is purely joyful and manageable. This book calls our attention to the question of what we, as professionals, can do to facilitate more realistic and practical preparation for motherhood as well as more open, honest and safe discussion for new moms.
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