All too often, women’s struggles are left in the dark. To talk about mental health crises in general takes courage and grit. To admit that pregnancy and motherhood have caused these issues takes an immense amount, and it is even less depicted in the media. Between the anxiety and depression also comes loneliness and feeling stunted and left behind. Luckily, there is media that has begun to break apart this taboo, so jump in and read on!
Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson
Let’s step back in history and take a look at one classic: Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson. The novel belongs to the once-popular seduction novel category of the late 1700s and early 1800s. It is a cautionary tale for young women to heed as a warning against hasty love.
Charlotte abandons her stable home in England for a life with a man in America. What could have been a love story turns into a tragic tale about a woman who gives birth in abject poverty. Her mental state has been destroyed, and she grows ill quickly.
The premise of a pregnancy destroying a woman’s life was not uncommon for the time, yet the reason Charlotte suffers so much is that society has rejected her. This creates a cycle of pain that she can not escape from and only leads to further shunning. Similar sentiments have been taken against any mention of modern women’s mental health, particularly when it comes to pregnancy and newborns.
Despite being a story that terrified women of old, it is one that critically depicts a motherly struggle and is still read to this day.
The Upstairs House by Julia Fine
Remember the madwoman in the attic from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre? Or at least, know the trope from the nineteenth century? The Upstairs House by Julia Fine imagines a similar madwoman upstairs, except this time, only Megan Weiler can see her.
Struggling from the trauma of giving birth to her first child, Megan battles with her mind and body. On one hand, she is forced to raise her newborn almost entirely on her own as her husband often travels for work. On the other hand, she laments about her unfinished dissertation, which was centered on children’s literature. Together, these cracks in her mind manifest the ghost of Margaret Wise Brown, the famous children’s book author.
The Upstairs House is a glimpse into the psychological struggle that is motherhood and postpartum mental crises. Julia Fine composes this haunting novel as a metaphor for a mother’s painful disconnect between body and mind.
The Nursery by Szilvia Molnar
Pregnancy and motherhood are supposed to be happy. The anxiety of the baby’s arrival and the pain of new motherhood should be overshadowed by the joy of it all. And yet, The Nursery’s new mother finds herself isolated and spiraling into postpartum depression.
She struggles with the mundane actions of keeping her newborn safe, and battles off intrusive thoughts of harm. Her identity slips as her mind does. The Nursery by Szilvia Molnar is an emotional and dark novel about the identity crisis and mental pain that new mothers can face.
After Birth by Elisa Albert
Giving birth can be traumatic, and it can alter a mother’s entire world. Ari, in Elisa Albert’s After Birth, sees herself altered and alone. She is distraught from the birth of her child and has almost accepted the exile society has placed on her as a new mother. That is, until a potential friend moves to town. She is alone and nine months pregnant, and the two find comfort in each other.
Albert has been praised as a master of dark humor and honest storytelling. After Birth does not shy away from the mental crises of mothers, and instead illuminates the struggle that has been shoved into the dark recesses of our minds.
Maid – Netflix Miniseries
More often than not, media that depict struggling mothers exclusively feature single moms. Maid, a Netflix miniseries created after the novel Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land, follows this trope. Yet, for good reason. Maid is based on the true account of Stephanie Land’s life and struggles.
The single mother in the series, Alex, must make the hard choice to escape an abusive relationship. However, now she must overcome homelessness by cleaning houses for little cash. Along the way, she struggles with caring for her daughter and upholding her mental health.
Unlike Charlotte Temple, which focuses on the fall of a woman because of her situation, Maid depicts a path of strength. It is a sad story, but one about triumph and fighting back against all odds.
At the end of the day, you are not alone. Time and time again, people have written about what it takes to overcome the mental struggles mothers face, and the toll it takes not just on the body, but on the mind. These pieces are proof of resilience and that your struggle is one worth fighting.
Want more authentic books? Read our article about books with encouraging parents here!
Looking for more? Check out our bookshelf of Thoughtprovoking Novels About Womanhood on Bookshop.org.
