Liane Moriarty

Christie Nieman

Miriam Sved

Maggie Scott

Natalie Kon-yu

Maya Linden

'When are you having children?' 'Why didn't you have another child?' 'Well, I guess that's your choice, but...' They are questions asked of women of a certain age all the time. Beneath them is the assumption that all women want to have children, and the judgment that if they don't, they'll be somehow incomplete. And that's only the beginning... Being a mother, or not being a mother, has never been so complicated. The list of rights and wrongs gets longer daily, with guilt-ridden mothers struggling to keep on top of it all, and non-mothers battling a culture that defines women by their wombs. In this collection of fiction and non-fiction stories, Australian women reflect on motherhood: how it should be and how it really is. Their stories tackle everything from the decision not to have children to the so-called war between working and stay-at-home mums. Including special contributions by Rosie Batty and Deborra-Lee Furness, the stories explore every topic from infertility and IVF, to step-parenting and adoption, to miscarriage and breastfeeding, child meltdowns and marriage breakdowns, as well as giving a much-needed voice to those who won't ever be called 'Mum'. With its unflinching honesty and clear-eyed wisdom, Mothers & Others holds a mirror up to the most romanticised, demonised and complex roles women play: those of mother or non-mother, and daughter.

Mothers and Others

Natalie Kon-yu was nine weeks pregnant when the trembling began. Two weeks later she checked herself into a mental health unit. Rather than a woman with a health concern, the doctors saw Natalie as a vessel carrying precious cargo. This loss of agency carried on through childbirth and into her early years as a mother. Natalie discovered that she was far from alone. In fact, her experience typifies the inequalities that weigh heavily on child-bearing women, as well as the devaluation of what is still perceived as 'women's work'. With bracing clarity and verve, Kon-yu tackles the outdated institutions, expectations and ideologies that hold us hostage as parents. The pressure is building and the cost on families is stacking up. Something has to give.

How we are all trapped by the politics of pregnancy and parenting

The Cost of Labour

'An extremely important anthology' Tracey Spicer In October 2017, the hashtag MeToo went viral. Since then we've watched controversy erupt around Geoffrey Rush, Germaine Greer and Junot Díaz. We've talked about tracking the movement back via Helen Garner, Rosie Batty and Hannah Gadsby. We've discussed #NotAllMen, toxic masculinity and trolls. We've seen the #MeToo movement evolve and start to accuse itself - has it gone too far? Is it enough? What does it mean in this country? And still, women are not safe from daily, casual sexual harassment and violence. In this collection thirty-five contributors share their own #MeToo stories, analysis and commentary to survey the movement in an Australian context. This collection resists victimhood. It resists silence. It insists on change. Timmah Ball # Arielle Cottingham # Alison Croggon # Carly Findlay # Sarah Firth # Eugenia Flynn # Ginger Gorman # Jenna Guillaume # Liz Hall-Downs # Nicole Hayes # Shakira Hussein # Eleanor Jackson # Kath Kenny # Natalie Kon-yu # Sylvie Leber # Rebecca Lim # Jenni Mazaraki # Fleur McDonald # Christie Nieman # Greta Parry # Rashmi Patel # Fiona Patten # Ruby Pivet # Natasha Rai # Candy Royalle # Kerri Sackville # Simone Sheridan and Ailsa Wild # Maggie Scott # Harriet Shing # Miriam Sved # Maria Takolander # Heather Taylor-Johnson # Helen Thurloe # Kaya Wilson PRAISE FOR #METOO 'For the Australian #MeToo movement, this book feels like both war-cry and manifesto - a comfort, a realisation and a reckoning.' Maxine Beneba Clarke '#MeToo: Stories from the Australian Movement should be essential reading for anyone with an interest in positively transforming our workplaces, relationships, and wider culture.' Australian Book Review 'Pour yourself a glass of wine or a cup of tea and buckle up, you will be moved, and maybe to action.' Arts Hub Australia 'This is a brave book. It wades into all the difficult areas...' The Conversation

Natalie Kon-yu

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