Dear Mother: Letters from the Heart

Suma Din
Hardback, 242 pages
9781847742032

Dear Mother… brings together mothers of all ages and backgrounds in a compendium of fictional letters, written from the heart. Great challenges and responsibilities, hopes and disappointments are explored without apology. As one mother prepares for a new-born, another shares her experience of being a single parent. Why is a mother at the primary school gate feeling burnt out by 9 am and what advice does a grandmother pass down to her granddaughter? Whether she’s sitting in the ante-natal clinic, on a bus or in the masjid, these letters reveal a variety of mothers’ inner dialogue – one which is rarely heard in society.

Contents

1. Dear Mother who has a second job
2. Dear Mother in the antenatal clinic
3. Dear Mother-to-be
4. Dear Mother feeling low during pregnancy and post delivery
5. Dear Mother who has a child with a disability
6. Dear Single Mother
7. Dear Mother who's raising a boy
8. Dear Mother overwhelmed by primary school
9. Dear Mother missing 'home'
10. Dear Mother exploring hijab for her daughters
11. Dear Mother of teens pre-Ramadan
12. Dear Mother living with pain
13. Dear Mother struggling to be 'fair'
14. Dear Mother who's feeling afraid
15. Dear Mother who's in the grocery shop aisle
16. Dear Mother who's depleted from giving
17. Dear Mothers, connect to nature
18. Dear Mother approaching their child's Quran khatm
19. Dear Mother living with domestic abuse
20. Dear Mother who needs to recharge her spiritual battery
21. Dear Mother educating her daughter
22. Dear Mother hanging in there at Eid Salah
23. Dear Mother stuck in conflict...
24. Dear Mother of two generations
25. Dear Mother who is the child
26. Dear Mother with the car radio on
27. Dear Mother searching for a marriage partner for her daughter
28. Dear Mother of an empty nest
29. Dear Mother who is my granddaughter
30. Dear Daughter who's just given birth