Letters to a Young Mother

Manuali? Guide? Istruzioni? Metodi? Forget about it!

Ecco quello di cui avevo bisogno: “Great with Child. Letters to a Young Mother” di Beth Ann Fennelly. Una poetessa, una professoressa d'inglese, un'amica che per 9 mesi ha scritto una lettera al giorno a una sua ex-allieva, incinta del suo primo bambino, e che per mia fortuna ha deciso di condividere con il mondo queste missive.

Come è scritto nei ringraziamenti, questo libro è un tributo all'amicizia, in modo particolare all'amicizia tra donne, quella che sostiene, guida e da conforto. L'amica che non dice cosa dovresti fare, ma che condivide con te sentimenti ed emozioni.

The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers, and cities; but to know someone who thinks and feels with us, and who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us un inhabited garden.

Goethe

Che ti fa ridere.

I was peeing hourly... It got to the point where I felt if I wanted a glass of water, I should drink it in the bathroom.

Che ti fa commuovere, ti rassicura.

You are a warrior. You are a warrior, and for your whole life your body has been warming up for this great fight. These last months have been consumed with training everything inside you, all of the hormones and the loosening of the joints have been in preparation for this, and you are ready. You know, more or less, the day, the place, of your battle, and you will meet it because you are destined for it, it is the greatest challeng your body will ever know...

You are the hero. No one but you can do it... No doctor will deliver you child. You will deliver your child, and you will be delivered.

E, se proprio vuoi un suo consiglio, è questo:

No matter how busy you become as the mother of a newborn, make sure you read in a good book every day, even if it's just for a few minutes... find time to read good literature, even if a novel takes a month... It's easy to believe you don't have time for luxuries like showering, not to mention reading.

But remember that reading provides nourishment for hungers we might not even be aware of. How often have I chosen a book at random and found in it an answer I didn't realize I was seeking. As if great books are vitamins that sense our deficiencies. Reading educates the emotions, and reading informs our decision making, for we learn through the experience of others as well as our own.

So reading is one of those things that seems selfish but, in the end, makes us better mothers. And by reading, we're raising children who'll love reading...

So keep reading, as happily this is one of those times when what's good for you is good for your child.