Sarah Knott

"Mother is a Verb: An Unconventional History" by Sarah Knott is both an autobiographical account of the author's journey through motherhood as well as a historical exploration of what it meant to 'mother' across the ages. The author, a historian, intermixes her own present-day experiences with those of the past. One moment you are listening to her detail her late-night feeding thoughts and emotions, the next you are hearing from a 19th century mother through her written journal entries.

The show more writing is very lyrical which adds a dream-like quality to the stories where time ceases to exist and universal mothering is celebrated. Note the use of 'mothering' not 'motherhood' as the focus of the author is on the verb, not the person. Mothers, Fathers, Grandparents and Communities are brought into the conversation as the author explored their theories, their anectodes and their practices. I especially enjoyed learning about the Indigenous peoples of Canada and the US.

The only thing that would've made this an even better read is if non-western cultures were explored. While the book does feature many cultures, I don't think there were any from the middle east, Africa or Asia. That being said, I also understand that it's impossible to ignore more without potentially making the book too unwieldly.

This is a wonderful celebration of mothering and history. An invitation to look beyond the wars, the battles and the 'big' events of the past. It's those more intimate moments and relationships that truly shape humanity. Those are the ones that the book brings to focus.

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Mixed with personal reflection, Knott tries to recover what it was like to be a mother—to realize you were pregnant, to give birth, to feed the baby—in English and US history. Much of the point is that these bodily functions, while seeming universal, have left very few traces, both because of patriarchy and because they are distracting and anti-writing in their very materiality. I’m cranky and didn’t get much from the personal elements.

An interesting blend of the history of mothering through the ages mixed with personal experiences of two pregnancies. Concentrating on America and Great Britain.
Many interesting historical facts come to light:
• The concept of 2 nights (first night, second night) from when people went to bed when the sun went down)
• Co-sleeping, in and out of fashion
• Dowager babies, name given child when displaced by a newborn.
• Plenty of euphemisms for being pregnant: ‘The rising of the apron’, show more ‘In the pudding club’, ‘Up the duff’, ‘A bun in the oven’ ... show less