Naomi Booth

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Raw Content is dark but hopeful as it delves into the impact of motherhood on mothers’ mental health. 

We follow Grace, the daughter of a police officer father who worked on an infamous child abuse case that continues to haunt him, and a mother who was institutionalised when Grace and her sister Isobel were young. After her rebellious teenage years, Grace settled in York with a successful job proofreading legal files. However, her father’s violent history in the police force and her mother’s absence are entrenched in her mind, resulting in sporadic intruding deliberations. This spirals when Grace becomes unexpectedly pregnant. Following the relief of a relatively easy birth, Grace is engulfed by intrusive thoughts. She imagines holding her baby over Lendal Bridge and listening for the splash as the River Ouse submerges the infant, rids the flat of anything that could harm Rosa and avoids the steep stairs leading up to her flat in fear of dropping her baby. Everyday tasks and objects suddenly ignite visceral all-consuming fears.

Raw Content is a profound, realistic depiction of motherhood and post-natal mental health issues, particularly exploring OCD. Naomi Booth eloquently captures the joys and beauties of motherhood but also emphasises the doubt and fears in this insightful literary fiction.

Eleanor 

Raw Content is dark but hopeful as it delves into the impact of motherhood on mothers’ mental health. 

We follow Grace, the daughter of a police officer father who worked on an infamous child abuse case that continues to haunt him, and a mother who was institutionalised when Grace and her sister Isobel were young. After her rebellious teenage years, Grace settled in York with a successful job proofreading legal files. However, her father’s violent history in the police force and her mother’s absence are entrenched in her mind, resulting in sporadic intruding deliberations. This spirals when Grace becomes unexpectedly pregnant. Following the relief of a relatively easy birth, Grace is engulfed by intrusive thoughts. She imagines holding her baby over Lendal Bridge and listening for the splash as the River Ouse submerges the infant, rids the flat of anything that could harm Rosa and avoids the steep stairs leading up to her flat in fear of dropping her baby. Everyday tasks and objects suddenly ignite visceral all-consuming fears.

Raw Content is a profound, realistic depiction of motherhood and post-natal mental health issues, particularly exploring OCD. Naomi Booth eloquently captures the joys and beauties of motherhood but also emphasises the doubt and fears in this insightful literary fiction.

raw content

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