I have exciting news to share… I’m proud and honored to be included in this important anthology, Mothering Through the Darkness: Women Open Up About the Postpartum Experience, coming out in November 2015, and edited by the wonderful women behind the HerStories Project.
The essay, which I wrote days before the deadline, came pouring out of me, as if it had been in hibernation. In a way, it had. I never believed I had postpartum anything. I didn’t feel that my pain warranted help. I wasn’t in deep enough, my darkness wasn’t dark enough. But now I understand that the spectrum is broader than I believed, that the lines are not black and white.
I believe this book will help de-stigmatize postpartum pain, and remind those who have suffered from it, or continue to suffer, that they are not alone.
It has helped me already, the writing of it, and I am eager to read the stories from my co-contributors, and glean wisdom from their experiences.
Have you or anyone you’ve known suffered from postpartum depression/anxiety/pain? Did they seek help or go at it alone?
writing at the table 
Congratulations! This is going to be an amazing book. You’re right about this: the spectrum is broad. It’s a really tough road and made worse when you are not “typical” so don’t know what’s happening or get help.
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Yes! Exactly Sarah. Thank you for saying this.
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Congrats Dana!!
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Thank you!
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I can’t wait to read this. I’ve definitely battled through this struggle and look forward to the insights you provide.
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Thank you so much. I am really looking forward to reading it too.
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A great support for others who have walked this journey. It is great you were able to contribute your story as this allows Mothers to know they are not alone.
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Thank you Karen, I appreciate your kind words!
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Wonderful Dana! Really looking forward to reading this book. So many of us endure that darkness without being able to name it. I’m sure these essays will help others feel less alone.
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Thanks Lisa! I felt so alone while I was experiencing it, determined to muscle through without help. But now I see how much I was struggling. I do think – and hope – this book will help many, many women.
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I can’t wait for this important and beautiful anthology to be released. xoxox
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Thank you so much Lindsey 🙂
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Congratulations – it sounds like it’s going to be an amazing anthology! I think, as you say, the spectrum on postnatal experience is really broad. After my first son I expect to feel on top of the world like everyone had told me about… but I didn’t. But I also didn’t feel depressed, I just felt kind of ‘off’ and thrown and like I was living in the twilight zone. Thankfully I had a group of mums from my antenatal class and we were honest with each other and supportive. I sometimes wonder where I would have been without them. Honesty in this area is so important. Whatever postnatal experience we have, we are not alone. xx
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Thanks so much Maddy. Agreed, we all need support and honesty when we become new moms. I love the way you describe it, the Twilight Zone indeed! I felt that way too. My whole world had been ripped off like a tablecloth and everything was left shaking and unsteady.
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I was so excited to see you were in it! I thought about submitting a story but didn’t have one. Not for this book. Perhaps the next. I simply can’t wait to read your words!
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Aw, thanks Tamara. I almost didn’t submit to this one, and then I was like, wait a minute, I actually do have a story to tell.
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Hearty congratulations, Dana! I am so excited to read you and other friends in this anthology. These essays, I am certain, will demonstrate the power of perseverance and how to navigate the darkness.
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HUGE congratulations to you my friend. I can’t believe I was selected, either. I didn’t realize what I was feeling back then at all and never got help… a book like this would have been so welcome.
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I was pretty shocked too 🙂 I feel like I still have so much to learn, which I suspect will come when I read all the essays.
For obvious reasons I’m especially curious to read stories about women who also fell into the gray area, the outer edges of PPD. It wasn’t until I gave myself permission to write the essay did I acknowledge how lonely and painful that time was for me.
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I completely doubted my experience. I thought it was being an older mom, and natural worry. Um, maybe not… I can’t WAIT to read your essay!
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Congratulations, Dana! What wonderful news. I’m so excited to hear that your writing will be included in this important anthology. It’s important to share a variety of experiences. I bet a lot of women will recognize their own story in yours, enabling them to “pull the curtain” back so to speak and realize that they aren’t alone.
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Thank you so much Jackie! I agree, this collection will definitely shed light on the wide spectrum of postpartum experiences.
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Good for you, Dana.
For so many reasons.
And good for those who read your honest words.
Congratulations.
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Thank you so much Julie. I really appreciate your kind words.
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Way to go Dana thats fantastic I bet this is just the beginning for you friend.
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Thank you so much Kath!
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