Writing Motherhood

I picked up this wonderful new book called "Writing Motherhood." It's a practical guide to recording motherhood and all its ups and downs.

The first step is starting a Mother's Notebook, which I think is a fabulous idea. I'm the type of person who never really did well with traditional journals. I'd start one and then abandon it because the pressure was just too much. It was overwhelming for me to stare at all those blank pages and think I needed to fill them.

The writer's notebook is not a journal. Author Lisa Garrigues says there are definitely similarities. Both are about self-discovery and self-expression. However, a Mother's Notebook is about telling stories, and as moms, we've got plenty of those.

Whether it's a tale about your terrible toddler or a sweet moment with your newborn, a Mother's Notebook is a place to tell those stories and, at the same time, sharpen your writing skills. It can be a place to document your child's everyday life from first words to report cards and silly conversations. More important than that, Garrigues says, the Mother's Notebook allows us to tell our own stories. "It's a means of understanding who we are as mothers."

I've just started reading it and I can't wait to go to the store and pick out my Mother's Notebook.

If you're a writer or aspire to be one, you should definitely pick up this book. Read more about it here.