Love Rebel: Reclaiming Motherhood

On By Anna EastlandIn Family Life, motherhood, Writing

  
I am so excited to announce that my first book, with four other awesome women writers, is about to be published!

This beautiful labour of love (sorry for the birthing pun!) started with a spark of friendship that caught fire a few summers ago, when my friend Laura’s cousin Roberta Cottam, now a close friend of mine, first came to my mom’s group. We were discussing the importance of spending time on our artistic pursuits, even as busy moms…how spending time on things that make your soul happy and stimulate your mind is actually good for your whole family. A happy fulfilled woman is a happy fulfilled wife and mother. 

This was a huge point of connection for Roberta (artist, writer, designer) and me (writer and photographer) and began a series of great conversations about the topic. We both felt that our spiritual lives and our artistic output were very connected, and encouraged each other to deepen both. This book is one of the fruits!

It also came about because of another very good friend, Monique Leblanc, who had inspired me to start blogging about a year earlier. I found her blog so genuine, funny and refreshing that I decided to start blogging myself. I liked that her writing was so real…you felt like you were having tea with a dear friend…rather than remaining an aquaintence who is only shown all the pretty bits…it was the opposite of contrived. I connected with joyful Melanie Jean Juneau and fun-loving Bonnie Way online through blogging and mutual friends, and when we began the book project, Bonnie invited her good friend Monique Les to join in as well. 

So five moms, five bloggers, five friends, brought together through the passionate work of Roberta Cottam and designer Laura Wrubleski (http://www.visualaura.net/), have resulted in an anthology which I hope will encourage and inspire many mothers in the beautiful and worthwhile vocation of raising the future citizens of the world (yup, I mean being a mom!). Look for it soon on Amazon in print or as an e-book! 

28 thoughts on “Love Rebel: Reclaiming Motherhood”

    1. I’ll post the Amazon link really soon! You can get it as en e-book or in print! So exciting! 🙂 it will be a good coffee table book…nice for quick reads when you’re nursing…a lot! How are the twins coming along?

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      1. Oh! It’s getting close! I’m almost 36 weeks and at the moment, they’re both breech. If they stay this way, I might need to have a c-section at 38 weeks. I’d rather not, but am reconciled to the idea. I’ll be in need of good breastfeeding reading. I’m pretty sure I’ll be doing nothing but lactating for the first few months at least!

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      2. Wow! Well you can be assured of my prayers for your little ones, and for a safe, peaceful labour for you, one way or another. Let’s hope for the best! St. Gerard patron of expectant mothers is a good one to ask for help, and also our lady of childbirth…who has a shrine in Italy.
        Let me know if you’d be interested in reviewing my book on your blog…(I could email you a PDF) or sharing the press release on Facebook or wherever….but don’t worry of you’re chock full of baby and don’t want to take on anything more…naps are priority right now! 🙂
        By the way, my friend Tajsha who has 7 kids says twins are really easy after about 9 months because they amuse each other all the time. We have a homeschool co-op together and her twins are great.

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      3. I’m carrying a medal of St Gerard about with me at the moment. I’m definitely interested in reviewing your book, hopefully I won’t be too muddle-headed in the weeks to come to take it on! Oh dear – there’s that perfectionism again!

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      5. It didn’t need to be fancy…’something like “this book goes well with coffee and I like it” would be fine! 😉 just whatever strikes you…and I’m so grateful. It’s fun to share our stories with other awesome moms!

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      6. I know what you mean – but my perfectionism demands fancy! And so I allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good and write nothing instead of something good enough but not exceptional! But, no fear! I will conquer this and write you something delightfully ordinary, but something which *actually exists*!
        Incidentally, it sounds like the sort of book a mum’s prayer group might enjoy reading together…

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  8. Reblogged this on joy of nine9 and commented:
    I am reposting Anna’s article because she lives in British Columbia and knows six of the women involved in our project. Her warm insights into our new book, Love Rebel: reclaiming Motherhood, give a whole new perspective to the women behind the author persona. While still in Canada, I live thousands of miles to the east, but I still connect heart-to-heart with these Catholic women bloggers,

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