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All My Wild Mothers: Motherhood, loss and an apothecary garden

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Stone by stone, seed by seed, All My Wild Mothers is the story of how sometimes life grows, not in spite of what is broken, but because of it. Can I allow myself to believe in the mystery, alongside the weight of truth, and learn to trust the beauty I find growing in the dark? Each chapter is named for a wild plant, or medicinal weed, its stories and healing properties, and then what follows is a recollection from Bennett's life, either in the present where she, her husband and son are trying to make a wild apothecary garden in the yard of their council estate house and having to manage her son's diabetes, the prejudice and bureaucracy one has to endure when one is dependent on the welfare system, and her elderly mother's recent terminal diagnosis; or at various points in the past where Bennett reflects on loves, losses and times of change and growth that were the seeds of the life she is now living. "In the broken ground of grief, I just wanted to see what could grow," she says in her author's note. It is also a reflection on motherhood, of one woman's experience, given her own inclinations, personality and the effect of being the youngest in a family of six children.

It took a year of iterations and submissions, but then the book found representation with Jenny Hewson at Lutyens and Rubinstein, following a fantastic response from querying agents. It went on to be acquired in a hotly contested five-way auction, by Lisa Highton, at Two Roads Books. All My Wild Mothers was published February 2023. you've captured my lifetime in palliative care. Just wonderful..." (Dr Kathryn Mannix, author 'With The End In Mind -- How To Live And Die Well) I found this book poignant, beautifully written, lyrical in places. It will stay with me for a long time.At the time of this initial event, she is pregnant with her first child, as the story continues her son becomes as much a part of the narrative as the author herself. At seven months pregnant, Victoria Bennett was looking forward to new motherhood after difficulties in previous pregnancies. Life felt hopeful at last. Then the telephone rang, and the news she received changed everything. Her eldest sister had died in a canoeing accident. This is a wonderful book - lyrical, tender and deeply moving. I was absolutely spellbound by it. Poetic, compelling, heartbreaking yet hopeful, it’s beautifully written and I am quite in awe of Victoria Bennett’s strength and resilience, and her determination to create something beautiful out of life’s inevitable grief and harshness. And her young son sounds like the most adorable, wise little boy. Initially writing in poetry, I have had poems appear in several anthologies, and published five pamphlets of poetry, the most recent being 'To Start The Year From Its Quiet Centre' with Indigo Dreams Publishing. Previous awards for poetry include a Northern Promise Award, and the Andrew Waterhouse Prize. I have also written for games-based storytelling. My work has been featured in The Guardian and most recently, at the Playing Poetry Festival at The National Poetry Library.

Truly a glimpse inside the world of the writer, stunningly honest storytelling as she shares the grief of loss and the power of new life entwined. Wonderfully written and totally immersive, hard to believe this is a debut. Each chapter of the book starts with a description of a plant, herb or flower, and their use or healing properties. They are nice reminders for modern day people of what nature has to offer. Five years later, and that life feels very different to the future Victoria had imagined. Struggling with complex grief, the demands of being a parent-carer for her young chronically ill son, and the impact of deeper austerity, everything feels broken.Beautiful and life-affirming experience. A memoir written with tremendous care for the reader’ Jini Riddy, author of Wanderland

My ugly grief does not fit this pink-tinged world of motherhood. No one wants to hear about death, so close to birth. In my last trimester, there were no trips to buy baby clothes, no antenatal classes to learn breathing techniques for an easier birth, no numbers swapped with other expectant mums. When others were nesting, I stayed in my room and cried and, when the time came, I gave birth at home beside the coal fire, as snow fell from the January sky.” I cannot recommend this book more highly to everyone but particularly to gardeners, mothers, poets, nature lovers and to those seeking a gentler yet wilder path. Children can teach and remind us of so much that is simple and good in life, sadly conditioned out of us by the effect of a societal system that squashes it before it can have a chance to flourish. What a wonderful read this is. The memoir of author Victoria Bennett this is her story interspersed with pictures and descriptions of herbs and plants and their historical folklore and medicinal uses. Beautifully written, almost poetic, it’s a very relaxing read, like cuddling up on the sofa with a box of chocolates and watching a favourite film. That’s not to say it’s not emotional. It is. Very emotional. I had tears when her son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at just two and a half years old - heartbreaking. The narrative itself is an enchanting combination of memoir and herbal folklore, and it really pulled me in as Victoria weaves her story through details and facts about plants. Her writing is passionate, and in fact it reminds me of Raynor Winn and the way I felt reading about her pain and loss too. Motherhood is a big theme throughout; a kind of hard work that takes up mental energy you don't feel you possess in times of grief, but also spurs you on with a beauty and joy previously unimagined.A move to a new social housing estate in rural Cumbria offers Victoria and her family a chance to rebuild their lives. Constructed over an industrial wasteland, at first the barren ground seems an unlikely place to sow the seeds of a new life. Determined to see what can grow, Victoria and her young son set about transforming the rubble around them. With no money and only the weeds growing under their feet, they begin to create a wild, apothecary garden. Daisy, for resilience. Dandelion, for strength against adversity. Red Campion, to ward off loneliness. Sow thistle, to lift melancholy. Borage, to bring hope in dark and difficult times...

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