The writer spent her life working with children, and longing for her own. So when she finally did become a mother, she was shocked by how uneasy she felt.
The writer was terrified by her dark fantasies of fleeing from Nazis with her Jewish family. But what disturbed her even more was learning that she wasn’t alone in her paranoia.
Motherhood is full of joy and heartbreak. But for a Black mother in America, it also means fiercely protecting her child by fending off an unrelenting onslaught of racism and ignorance.
Raised by two different toxic maternal figures, the writer has spent her life looking for someone to nurture and guide her. And she found her in the most unexpected place.
Driven by passionate professional goals, the writer—and now cheese maker—was embarrassed by her mom’s lack of career. Until she realized why she shouldn’t be.
In this painfully honest essay, the writer shares what it’s like to grow up with a toxic mom who made it very clear that she didn’t want to have children.
The writer’s mother embraced her grays and wrinkles like every other woman of her generation. Her daughter, however, faces her terror with Botox, hair dye, and a healthy dose of denial.
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