Matrescence
On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood
Published on 6. June 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-80206-130-7 (ISBN)
Description
*A New Yorker, New Statesman and Daily Mail BOOK OF THE YEAR*
*Longlisted for the 2024 Women's Prize for Non-Fiction*
'The best book I've ever read about motherhood' Jude Rogers, Observer
'I kept scribbling in the margins: 'We need to know this stuff!'' Joanna Pocock, Spectator
A radical new examination of the transition into motherhood and how it affects the mind, brain and body
During pregnancy, childbirth, and early motherhood, women undergo a far-reaching physiological, psychological and social metamorphosis.
There is no other time in a human's life course that entails such dramatic change-other than adolescence. And yet this life-altering transition has been sorely neglected by science, medicine and philosophy. Its seismic effects go largely unrepresented across literature and the arts. Speaking about motherhood as anything other than a pastel-hued dream remains, for the most part, taboo.
In this ground-breaking, deeply personal investigation, acclaimed journalist and author Lucy Jones brings to light the emerging concept of 'matrescence'. Drawing on new research across various fields - neuroscience and evolutionary biology; psychoanalysis and existential therapy; sociology, economics and ecology - Jones shows how the changes in the maternal mind, brain and body are far more profound, wild and enduring than we have been led to believe. She reveals the dangerous consequences of our neglect of the maternal experience and interrogates the patriarchal and capitalist systems that have created the untenable situation mothers face today.
Here is an urgent examination of the modern institution of motherhood, which seeks to unshackle all parents from oppressive social norms. As it deepens our understanding of matrescence, it raises vital questions about motherhood and femininity; interdependence and individual identity; as well as about our relationships with each other and the living world.
*Longlisted for the 2024 Women's Prize for Non-Fiction*
'The best book I've ever read about motherhood' Jude Rogers, Observer
'I kept scribbling in the margins: 'We need to know this stuff!'' Joanna Pocock, Spectator
A radical new examination of the transition into motherhood and how it affects the mind, brain and body
During pregnancy, childbirth, and early motherhood, women undergo a far-reaching physiological, psychological and social metamorphosis.
There is no other time in a human's life course that entails such dramatic change-other than adolescence. And yet this life-altering transition has been sorely neglected by science, medicine and philosophy. Its seismic effects go largely unrepresented across literature and the arts. Speaking about motherhood as anything other than a pastel-hued dream remains, for the most part, taboo.
In this ground-breaking, deeply personal investigation, acclaimed journalist and author Lucy Jones brings to light the emerging concept of 'matrescence'. Drawing on new research across various fields - neuroscience and evolutionary biology; psychoanalysis and existential therapy; sociology, economics and ecology - Jones shows how the changes in the maternal mind, brain and body are far more profound, wild and enduring than we have been led to believe. She reveals the dangerous consequences of our neglect of the maternal experience and interrogates the patriarchal and capitalist systems that have created the untenable situation mothers face today.
Here is an urgent examination of the modern institution of motherhood, which seeks to unshackle all parents from oppressive social norms. As it deepens our understanding of matrescence, it raises vital questions about motherhood and femininity; interdependence and individual identity; as well as about our relationships with each other and the living world.
Reviews / Votes
A thrilling examination of what it means to be a mother ... Myths are smashed from page one ... essential reading, roaring and ready to change conversations -- Jude Rogers * Observer * I kept scribbling in the margins: 'We need to know this stuff!' ... wide-ranging in its scope, packed with statistics ... comes as close as it's possible to describing this indescribable moment in a woman's life -- Joanna Pocock * Spectator * Reading this, I felt a jolt of recognition ... I wish someone could have handed me Matrescence -- Sophie McBain * New Statesman * This deeply personal book takes on "fairytale" ideas about being a mother ... An exploration of motherhood - the contrast between myth and reality and between individual and social expectations ... Jones writes beautifully and with searing honesty about the life-changing physical and emotional impact of having a child -- Rachel Sylvester * The Times * She is a gifted writer ... A vital, hopeful book ... to read Matrescence is to emerge chastened and ready for change -- Marianne Levy * i News * Beautiful... boundary-pushing ... Jones is a pioneer ... she skilfully elucidates the monumental shifts motherhood brings ... I found myself inwardly cheering -- Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett * Guardian * It is difficult to put into words the importance of this book. I felt it in my heart. I carried it with me, I think I always will. Jones has written the book we desperately needed -- Daisy Johnson Matrescence took me on a journey of reminescence through my own pregnancies and early years of motherhood, eliciting wry recognition, surprise at new evidence and insight, and gratitude for a work that really sees what it is to mother -- Clare Chambers A beautiful contemplation of the extraordinary yet ordinary metamorphosis that adult humans undergo as they become mothers ... I was entranced ... Matrescence is a passionate and powerful maternal roar for change -- Gaia Vince Hypnotic, fascinating and long overdue. I am so glad it exists. A gift of a book and told beautifully. -- Laura DockrillMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 193 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
237 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80206-130-7 (9781802061307)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2023
Penguin Books Ltd
€10.99
Available for download
Person
Lucy Jones is a writer and journalist based in Hampshire, England. She previously worked at NME and the Daily Telegraph, and her writing on culture, science and nature has been published in GQ, BBC Wildlife, The Sunday Times, the Guardian and the New Statesman. She is the author of Foxes Unearthed, which won the Society of Authors' Roger Deakin Award 2015; Losing Eden, which was long-listed for the Wainwright Prize and named a Times and Telegraph book of the year; and Matrescence, 'a thrilling examination of what it means to be a mother' (Observer), which has been longlisted for the inaugural Women's Prize for Nonfiction.