My Mummy After Our Baby
by Namita Mahanama
GENRE: Children's Fiction - Family and Relationships
BLURB:
My Mummy After Our Baby: A Journey Of Hope and Healing is a beautifully written and illustrated story, about the reality of post-natal depression setting in after the birth of their perfect little baby.
It is a gentle, soft, perfectly put together story, filled with an abundance of emotion and heart to explain what is happening at home, for all children who may be feeling lost and confused about what is happening to their Mummy after becoming unwell.
It is written by a mother who experienced this twice herself and vowed to create a beautiful explanation and tool, in order to provide hope, solace and strength for other families, that she wished was available for her children.
This beautiful book is written in the hope of educating, as well as to be a connective and bonding tool, at a time when a family needs it the most. It is gently and eloquently written, with the most amazing illustrations, that will form the basis of a vital healing tool in the home of everyone who is going through this harrowing chapter.
The author has brought the prospect of hope in a perfect package here and is her gift to you and your family, to navigate through this chapter with as much peace and lightness as possible.
Purchase My Mummy After Our Baby on
AMAZON.COM ~ AMAZON.CA ~ INDIGO CHAPTERS ~ BARNES & NOBLE ~ BOOK DEPOSITORY
Excerpt:
The next day when Aydan went to school, his Mummy went into the hospital and after six hours of having a really sore tummy ache, she welcomed their beautiful little boy Kameron into the world!
The sun shone brightly that day, the birds chirped happily and his Mummy and Daddy were crying with how grateful, happy and blessed they felt! Aydan had never seen his Mummy glow so brightly and he loved his brother instantly for giving that to her.
Aydan had to be brave for a few days whilst his Mummy stayed in the hospital with Kameron to rest her body…but was so excited to welcome them back home.
When his Mummy did come home, she was so happy to see Aydan that she cried and glowed all at the same time! Rupert was so excited too that he couldn’t stop wagging his tail and cuddling his Mummy. It was perfection!
The next morning, Aydan noticed his Mummy looked a bit tired and she wasn’t shining as brightly as he remembered. He cuddled her and told her just how much he loved and missed her.
As the Autumn leaves started to fall down heavily over the next few days, Aydan looked at his Mummy and noticed that today her light had almost completely gone. Her smile, her glowing eyes, the light in her heart had almost completely disappeared and he felt so sad not knowing where they had all gone.
Interview with NAMITA MAHANAMA
How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
It was through my lived-experience of my postnatal depression after the birth of both of my sons, that steered me towards this theme of my children’s book and non-fiction book.
Actually, the books have started the foundation of my whole platform called Whole-istic Healing Co., that has been birthed alongside this writing process.
I vowed upon my recovery after falling ill with PND the second time, that I would work tirelessly to change the narrative of this condition and provide resources from a practical level to help all other women and their families who are experiencing this also.
I desperately wanted to become a vehicle of change and to shine the light on a condition filled with so much darkness, so that others do not have to suffer as much as I did.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
My goals and intentions were that of being a beautiful, gentle, emotive and connective resource for families to explain what is happening within the home when a mother falls unwell with postnatal depression…as well as to provide the message of hope to this child and their family.
I found that we had no resources or tools to explain this to my eldest son, who was 4 at the time when I was unwell. I therefore wrote this book, as something I wished we had access to when we needed it but was not available.
I definitely feel that the illustrations and the story, evokes understanding, compassion and empathy within the home…and does offer the prospect of hope! I also feel that reading the book by the mother to her child, in and of itself can be so therapeutic and healing…so I definitely am so happy with the outcome of this book and what it has allowed in reading it.
What was the hardest part of writing this book?
The hardest part was reliving the condition and trying to explain to my illustrator exactly how I was feeling, so that she could express this in her illustrations.
This brought me back to the time of my illness, which whilst incredibly cathartic and healing, still brought me back to that time which was filled with so much pain, sadness and darkness.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I enjoyed capturing the feelings of love, joy and my ethereal glow pre-postnatal depression and the feelings of this growing even more exponentially upon my recovery!
It enabled me to devour this feeling again, after going back to that time in my writing, to appreciate how far I have come in my journey and how beautiful life is upon my recovery!!
It was a beautiful reminder to me of the sacredness of our life now and allows me to not sweat the small stuff again! A beautiful reminder to always be grateful for our health and mental wellness…something I can never take for granted again!
Were there alternate endings you considered?
Not at all! This was the recounting of my exact lived-experience, and so it was depicted exactly as what had unfolded.
There was no other way to explain this story, other than what happened and to portray the message of hope… and to keep holding on for the recovery that IS possible!!
It is giving the families who need to hear that recovery is possible and that it is so incredibly beautiful…so there was no way that any other alternative was possible!
Can you share some stories about people you met while researching this book?
This is my lived-experience, so my husband, our fur-baby, and our two boys were the ones in the story exactly. I had to go back into my memory box and extract these from there…but no other research was done or was necessary!
What genre of books do you enjoy reading?
I love reading self-growth books and spirituality books as I constantly love to learn and grow!
I love all non-fiction books that encourage shifting paradigms within ourselves, in order to grow and shift what no longer serves us.
I can read biographies of people who inspire me also, but essentially love all things that enable growth within me.
I have not delved into fiction books since becoming a mother…and perhaps one day I will again! For now, my time is dedicated on reading wisdom for self-growth…like Doctor Shefali Tsabary, Jay Shetty, Eckhart Tolle or any new titles that Oprah recommends!
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Namita is a mother of two boys and draws upon her heart-wrenching first-hand experience of
post-natal depression, after the birth of both of her children. She is creating a myriad of support tools for women and their families, to navigate through their journeys of PND with as much ease and grace as possible.
Namita is a registered pharmacist who has qualifications in Ayurveda and Ayurveda Yoga teaching, as well as being a PMC (paediatric massage consultant) and CIMI (certified infant massage instructor). She draws upon her professional knowledge as well as her own experience, to be the support lifeline at a time when families need it the most.
Her intention is that she can be a beacon of hope and shine much-needed light, on the road
towards the mothers and the entire family's healing and recovery. She hopes to inspire and uplift you through this chapter in your life.
Connect with Namita Mahanama
WEBSITE ~ INSTAGRAM ~ GOODREADS
1 comments:
Sounds like a great book.
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