Born in Lockdown is a one-of-a-kind story with 277 authors and one shared experience: becoming a new mother in 2020.
The coronavirus pandemic has intensified what is already a challenging time for many, making the need for self-expression ever more vital; the Born in Lockdown collaborative writing project grew out of this recognition. It was launched in November by novelist and Mothership founder Emylia Hall, and was for mums who’d given birth that same year. The idea was to encourage writing for pleasure and purpose: to find, amidst the clamour, the space to hear one’s own voice. And, together, to tell the story of what it was like to navigate new motherhood in 2020.
A call-out for participants resulted in 277 new mums taking part, each writing in a fragmentary style – using no more than a handful of connected sentences. The joy of fragments is that they can be scribbled down when time permits; they reflect the flitting nature of our thoughts – allowing us to capture moments that might otherwise be lost; and best of all they feel accessible and achievable. The project was open to all – no prior writing experience was necessary – and anyone who wanted to be included was included. It was Emylia’s job, and great privilege, to find the narrative threads and stitch together this vast patchwork of experience; a whole, made of many, many small parts. All of the writers’ words appear verbatim and unedited – and every single one deserves to be read.
Born in Lockdown is a remarkable record of new motherhood at this time; an unflinchingly honest and moving account, where – despite the pain and hardship – resilience and love and hope shine through.
It’ll be released on 23rd February 2021, and will be available to download here on the Mothership website. We’ll soon be announcing our charity partner, as we’d love it if readers were able to make a voluntary donation.
Big thanks to the super talented Esther Curtis for designing our amazing cover. It so perfectly captures the collaborative spirit of our project, and our Mothership values of creativity, community, and wellbeing.