Checking in....and a book review!

I’ve done absolutely NO STITCHING..,.none….not a single stitch since I posted last.  I have started some gift knitting…but that’s it.  Pretty poor effort on my part I think.

I have however written a heap of new songs.

My most recent song is about parenting…I’ve had a bit on a bit of a rough parenting road lately…teenagers….hormones….all that stuff, and last week I had to make a decision that wasn’t really popular, the song called “The Eyes of my Child (20 Questions)” came out of that situation.

“The Spirit of Elvis” is coming along nicely, and another called “Words Wont Come” is working up nicely

I’ve also recently bought a beautiful book (actually I’ve bought it three times and two friends are now reading it too!) “A Divided Heart: Art and Motherhood” I did a bit of a blurb on my myspace, but I will add it here!  It’s a gorgeously heart wrenching and wonderful book.

Divided Heart: Art and Motherhood – Rachel Power..
ISBN: 9781742035017

I spotted on the shelf of my local bookshop, a book called “Divided Heart: Art and Motherhood” by Rachel Power and I quickly read the back cover and thought, “Oh great – some light reading for the train”.  A collection of conversations with the artist mothers of Australia, writers, artists, dancers, songwriters, and filmmakers.

I was wrong. 

There is nothing lightweight about this book.  By page two of the introduction, I am a woman (and a mother) dangerously close to tears as I read, and re-read the words that have seemingly been stripped from my soul and placed on these pages by some other woman and mother.  I’ve never before encountered anyone brave enough to verbalise or write about childbirth and motherhood in this way.

 page 2 of the introduction……

“Like a magnet, simultaneously repelled and attracted, to be a mother is to be mired in contradiction.  We can love our children while resenting their impact on our lives; our bodies sing out for theirs when we are away from them, yet our minds can strain away in boredom and frustration when they are near.  Children are not a job you can leave, or a country you can return from.  No one can guarantee you a child who matches your imaginings.  You will get what you’re given – and there is no turning back.”    

Lately I’ve struggled with the ideas of being a creative woman without something in my life giving way. I often joke with my friends that if I am to continue with my song-writing dream that I will have to give up work, or offload my family – kids, partner, dogs and cats included.  I related to this book from the very first page.

If you’re a creative woman (and aren’t we all), I urge you to find a copy of this book and read it, alone, where you can weep, as I did, when you come to the realisation that what you feel is being felt by others, that’ you’re not a failure as a mother, and that there is hope for your creative life amongst it all.

PIck up a copy for yourself….or your mother….and enjoy!

I’ve also read “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night” by Mark Haddon…a beautiful book written from the point of view by a young boy with Autism.  Very thought provoking and funny too.

Yesterday I picked up a book about Eva Cassidy, “The Story of Her Life by Those that Knew Her”…Eva was an amazing singer and if you get a chance to pick up a Cd – listen to her – her voice was truly incredible.

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