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While author Phylis Warady of Alta Sierra has plenty of credits in her 40-year writing career, it is her credentials as a mother that came in handy most recently. "Not What I Expected," edited by Donya Currie Arias and Hilde S. Block, is filled with fiction, essays poetry and art offering images that break the heart and then mend it. These are the stories of the unimaginable love discovered through motherhood, as well as confessions of regret and anguish.
These essays, stories and poems (all written by mothers) remind us of the universal experiences that unite all mothers into an archetypal sorority. Warady's contribution, "Pearl in a Foul Oyster," is a charming remembrance of a lesson taught by her unlikely little teacher. The entire collection reminds us of moments we may have forgotten and reconnects us with experiences we'll never forget.
The anthology is arranged in sections from "Pregnancy" to "Lessons," and it seems that therein is the collection's theme. In the introduction, Currie Arias and Block tell us that like many moms, they felt confident, optimistic and prepared for motherhood by the "cheerful reassurances" offered in popular pregnancy and mothering tomes. "Then we had our kids," they write. "Then we learned that, in pregnancy, birthing, motherhood and after, nothing goes as expected."
Many of the stories in "Not What I Expected" are those that close girlfriends share over coffee. Then there are the private fears, doubts and regrets sometimes too difficult to share, even with our closest friends.
A resident of Alta Sierra since 1984, Phylis Warady has long balanced what could seem to be competing roles of mother and writer. Even back when she had three kids under the age of 5, Warady still knew that she wanted to write fiction. Like her co-authors in "Not What I Expected," Warady often had to take advantage of every nap time and school day in order to write. Now the children are grown, and her credits include three published Regency romance novels that she describes as love stories "you can share with your daughter or your mother." Her newest romance, "The Golden Swan," is due for release in June.
"Not What I Expected" offers a little something for nearly every mom. With Mother's Day almost upon us, this book makes a timely appearance as a gift for moms. Many of the stories are uplifting and reassuring and offer tender mercy to those of us who worry about all of our mothering choices. Some of the stories (particularly those about miscarriage and still birth) could be a little upsetting for tender-hearted expectant mothers, but even that can be overcome with a little selective reading.
"Not What I Expected" is a book I'll be giving to my sister and to close friends, some of whom have toddlers underfoot while others have grandchildren too far away. I'll even give it to a friend who, at 17, honorably offered her child to a family more capable of raising him. It's her story too.
Copies of "Not What I Expected" can be found in Grass Valley at The Book Seller and Harmony Books and in Nevada City at Words on Paper.
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Betsy Graziani Fasbinder is a local writer and contributor to The Union. She and her family came to Nevada County in 2005, pleased to find a new home that welcomes artists, celebrates community and revels in its beautiful surroundings.
These essays, stories and poems (all written by mothers) remind us of the universal experiences that unite all mothers into an archetypal sorority. Warady's contribution, "Pearl in a Foul Oyster," is a charming remembrance of a lesson taught by her unlikely little teacher. The entire collection reminds us of moments we may have forgotten and reconnects us with experiences we'll never forget.
The anthology is arranged in sections from "Pregnancy" to "Lessons," and it seems that therein is the collection's theme. In the introduction, Currie Arias and Block tell us that like many moms, they felt confident, optimistic and prepared for motherhood by the "cheerful reassurances" offered in popular pregnancy and mothering tomes. "Then we had our kids," they write. "Then we learned that, in pregnancy, birthing, motherhood and after, nothing goes as expected."
Many of the stories in "Not What I Expected" are those that close girlfriends share over coffee. Then there are the private fears, doubts and regrets sometimes too difficult to share, even with our closest friends.
A resident of Alta Sierra since 1984, Phylis Warady has long balanced what could seem to be competing roles of mother and writer. Even back when she had three kids under the age of 5, Warady still knew that she wanted to write fiction. Like her co-authors in "Not What I Expected," Warady often had to take advantage of every nap time and school day in order to write. Now the children are grown, and her credits include three published Regency romance novels that she describes as love stories "you can share with your daughter or your mother." Her newest romance, "The Golden Swan," is due for release in June.
"Not What I Expected" offers a little something for nearly every mom. With Mother's Day almost upon us, this book makes a timely appearance as a gift for moms. Many of the stories are uplifting and reassuring and offer tender mercy to those of us who worry about all of our mothering choices. Some of the stories (particularly those about miscarriage and still birth) could be a little upsetting for tender-hearted expectant mothers, but even that can be overcome with a little selective reading.
"Not What I Expected" is a book I'll be giving to my sister and to close friends, some of whom have toddlers underfoot while others have grandchildren too far away. I'll even give it to a friend who, at 17, honorably offered her child to a family more capable of raising him. It's her story too.
Copies of "Not What I Expected" can be found in Grass Valley at The Book Seller and Harmony Books and in Nevada City at Words on Paper.
ooo
Betsy Graziani Fasbinder is a local writer and contributor to The Union. She and her family came to Nevada County in 2005, pleased to find a new home that welcomes artists, celebrates community and revels in its beautiful surroundings.
