Mothershift: Reclaiming Motherhood as a Rite of Passage

Explore this supportive, grounding guide for new mothers navigating the cascade of identity change and transformation that is motherhood—based on the internationally acclaimed program, MotherSHIFT. Our modern, Western societal understanding of what happens to a woman when she becomes a mother—beyond emotional rollercoasters and healing her pelvic floor—remains largely uncharted territory. The transition to motherhood – also known as matrescence – actually takes two to three years, not six weeks or three months as we’ve been led to believe. Mothershift offers a supportive, affirming road map for this transformational process.     Jessie Harrold introduces her “map for your becoming,” a research-based, four-phase model that maps out how the transition to motherhood unfolds and helps mothers to navigate every step along the way. She has used this model to guide thousands of mothers through matrescence. Harrold also includes self-inquiry questions and journal prompts in each chapter to help women identify and thrive amidst the cascade of changes they can expect as they enter motherhood. Topics include:-Normalizing the feelings of grief and loss of self you may feel along the way,-Navigating the discomfort of not knowing who you are anymore now that you’re a mother;-Guiding you to cultivate a sense of empowerment and leadership in motherhood, showing you how mothering is a counterculture act;-Showing you how to use the “superpowers” that motherhood offers— self-tending, creativity, embodiment, ritual, community, inner knowing, and earth connection to become powerful change agents in a world that desperately needs mothering;-Gently guiding you to explore who you are becoming;-And much moreMothershift offers a wise, inspiring, and practical view of what it can look like when women are supported and encouraged to experience motherhood as a doorway to becoming more deeply in touch with who they are—and what is possible in their lives. It is a vision for an experience of matrescence that is understood as a rite of passage filled with power and potential.