A nuanced and carefully constructed meditation on motherhood across history. Beautifully written and insightful.

I really enjoyed this unique, anecdotal look at mothering throughout history. I resonated with the author's personal reflections as well as her look at motherhood and how it has been the same and has changed.

I really enjoyed this exploration of motherhood and especially liked the way Knott structured the book itself. There were some moments that veered a bit too academic even for my taste, and I think sometimes the writing style was a bit uneven because of the marrying of the academic and the personal. Ultimately, though, it was a well-written, timely, and thoughtful text that I think brings a lot of interesting ideas to the conversation of motherhood.

Thanks to Farrar, Strous and Giroux and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I actually had a long review for this book typed out ages ago but lost it somehow and time just got away from me so apologies to the author and publisher for that.

This book has an interesting format. It's part memoir, part women's/social history. The author interweaves her own experiences as a mother with historical facts and accounts of women's experience of motherhood through the ages. Structuring the book this way really works and I found myself really taking the time to savour this book as I was reading it. It's what I might call a 'thoughtful' book and there is lots in here to reflect on.

Some parts made for difficult reading and there is mention of miscarriage and child loss. I found myself reflecting on my own experiences whilst reading this book and felt more connected to a wider female experience. Motherhood can be joyful but it can also be extremely isolating and lonely and I think Knott did an amazing job of encapsulating both the highs and lows.

Overall, an exquisitely written ode to motherhood. Definitely not a yummy mummy easy read, but a comprehensively researched account of one of life's great journeys.

Last year I came across letters that were published in the early 20th century in a newspaper targeting Canadian prairie farmers in which women were asking advise of the agony aunt about mothering and family planning. These are the kind of voices that Knott was able to find in the archives, and unfortunately as she mentions, the histories of these women are very fragmented. Knott however, weaves these anecdotes beautifully with her own experience and the experience that would likely be familiar to contemporaries in Western Civilization.

I loved reading about the different theories and practices of mothering at various eras, but also appreciate that Knott looked outside of her own culture, citing practices of Indigenous peoples in Canada in the US for instance, where often these people and their practices have been derided in the past.

Mothering, and mother as a verb doesn't end with birth and so I wish we had a little bit more from Knott about mothering young children, but perhaps we can look forward to this in the future? (Fingers crossed - I'd love to read more of her story and the anecdotes that she can find in history for the same process).

Chapter 21 ended with an interesting comment in which Knott made clear that she was leery of feminism based on maternalism. I found this fascinating, and as a feminist I understand the danger of any school of thought that values women for their reproductive abilities above all else, I just wish Knott had touched on this more.

I think I may have to purchase myself a hard copy of this title to revisit it, and to go through Knott's extensive notes. I think this would also be a lovely gift for expectant mother, or the mother of young children.

Disclaimer: I did not finish this book (about 30%).
Mother is a Verb is both a history of motherhood and a personal journey of the author becoming a mother herself. The history side of things builds on anecdotes from women of all classes, cultures, places and times; a narrative of the mother through pregnancy to birth and beyond. Things we take for granted in our modern times like pregnancy tests are given their own historical perspectives. Timeless phenomenons like the baby's cry are given their own meaning-making from contemporary ideas to historical outdated or influential points of view. While the premise of the book is wonderful - telling the story of women, some who would never otherwise been heard, through regular people rather than powerful men - the result is a fragmentary book with little of the immediacy and emotional power of a single story, rather this is a choir of voices and as a reader it can feel a bit like trying to make out what one voice is saying over the crowd. The idea of the book's shape as a historical account is admirable but does not translate into an engaging book, in my opinion. Knott has clearly done her research and she asks valuable questions like how women giving birth has changed (where, who is present, when is she first allowed to hold the baby, how much has this changed and why, has it changed for the better), and more. Ultimately I found a lack of intimacy somehow, despite hearing of personal details of many lives - including the authors, there was nothing bouncing off the page. I think if you're interested in the history of motherhood, from the very conception of a child through the whole journey of pregnancy and beyond, this is an invaluable book - but only if you want as broad of a picture as possible. For depth, you might have to look elsewhere.

I really enjoyed this book. It was half memoir and half educational. It clearly would be more useful to a young mother but even as a grandmother I found the historical information very interesting. I would definitely purchase it as a gift for an expectant mother because it provides so much more than just the physiological aspects of pregnancy and motherhood. Writing was precise and descriptive without going over board.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

The history often comes across as more academics and explicitly feminist, but it is comprehensive and very interesting. A wonderful complement you all the books released about the struggles of modern mothering as well as a testament to the historical strength of women

A n emotional look at motherhood from Sara Knotts personal raw open discussion of her miscarriage her pregnancy her delivery and life with her baby.Intermixed with pregnancies mothers ,motherhood in history.An engaging almost mystical literary ode to the concept of motherhood.All mothers those beginning the journey those whose children are grown will be drawn to this book.#netgalley #fsg