I truly enjoyed this book. There are many layers to unpack and in a sense reminds me 'it takes a village.' I appreciate the opportunity to have read this one! Thank you.

I picked this book up because, in typical American fashion, I know nothing about most movements in other countries. I'm also very interested in commune living and non-traditional family set ups. While being billed as a memoir, this is more of a history of the Women’s Movement in Denmark with the focus on what the author’s mothers did as part of the movement. This results in a very intimate look at the important movement.

Told through a blend of multiple interviews Pernille did with six of her seven mothers and archival records, we are brought along for the formation, growth, and change of the Danish Women’s movement through the 1970’s. We also follow the Lesbian Movement alongside the Women’s Movement.

Overall the book was well written though there were some moments in the later half where the timeline wasn’t as clear. I appreciate when books like this focus on one story thread at a time and follow that along in time instead of sticking strictly chronological. That allows the reader to put the layers together and see a logical and well rounded view of the events and people we’re reading about.

An absorbing, heartfelt memoir capturing the spirit of women collectivism and feminist courage. If you’re drawn to real-life stories of alternative family dynamics and social transformation, this will stay with you.

My Seven Mothers by Pernille Ipsen is a moving and thought-provoking exploration of radical feminism, communal living, and chosen family in 1970s Denmark. With a deeply personal lens, Ipsen recounts the lives of the seven women who collectively raised her, tracing their journey from a feminist island camp to the heart of Copenhagen’s Women’s Movement.

The book shines in its intimate portrayal of these women as individuals shaped by shared ideals, personal struggles, and eventual political divisions. Ipsen’s writing is graceful and grounded, balancing historical narrative with emotional depth. She deftly connects past debates around gender, sexuality, and parenting with ongoing questions we still face today.

What makes the book especially compelling is its nuanced look at utopian aspirations: the joys and tensions of collective life, the complexities of identity, and the costs of ideological purity.

The book is a reminder that even imperfect revolutions can change the world and change lives.

This review is copied directly from my blog.

Title: My Seven Mothers: Making a Family in the Danish Women's Movement*


Author: Pernille Ipsen


*This post contains affiliate links. If you make purchases after using these links, I will earn a percentage of your purchase without any further cost to you.


Rating: n/a (I don’t normally rate memoirs, but I totally recommend this book!)


Favorite Quote: “It was much easier for my mothers to do new things because they didn’t have to negotiate about it with men.” Ipsen, Pernille. My Seven Mothers: Making a Family in the Danish Women’s Movement. University of Minnesota Press, 2025. Pg. 77.



Review: Thanks to the NetGalley platform and the University of Minnesota Press for the free e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.


My Seven Mothers is a number of stories tied into one: the story of a woman’s movement who changed the course of history for women in Copenhagen and beyond, the story of different women whose relationships with one another ranged from platonic to romantic, but is uniquely powerful regardless, and finally, the story of Pernille Ipsen, whose life began with seven mothers, all of whom


This book is my favorite kind of nonfiction - one that shares a story of a historical event (or other non-fictiony topic), interwoven with a personal narrative. I like to learn something, but I also love to hear how the author, or someone else, exists within that story.


Ipsen focuses much of the book on the various movements her mothers participated in - primarily the Redstocking Movement and the women’s island retreat that they participated in and/or founded as they developed in their lives as activated.


But she also keeps herself entwined in the narrative, often referencing conversations she had with her mothers as she interviewed them for this book.


The book focuses on so many of the successes and the struggles of being a woman and an activist in Copenhagen during this era. One moment that stood out to me as particularly impressive (and a bit amusing) is when they led a group of women to build a makeshift stroller ramp at the train station because the station was so inaccessible to people with children. While the ramp itself didn’t last long, a new, more longstanding solution was soon found.


The book is also an exploration of gender and sexuality and how those two things are often fluid and have no clear boundaries. It looks at religion and culture and everything that built the women who built the movements explored throughout the book.


The one criticism of this book is that I think it could be structured a bit more cohesively. Except for the first section, I often found myself confused about where in time the particular chapter was located within the span of the greater narrative.



About that Quote: This book is by no means a book about hating men. Many of Pernille’s mothers had meaningful, loving relationships with men. But I think a critical part of this book is that it explores how women could reimagine relationships and reimagine their lives without the constructs placed on them throughout their lives. And so they could make decisions…without needing men to take part.

This book is less a memoir, and more a personal history of some extraordinary women.

Ipsen’s mothers lived as a feminist commune in Denmark in the early 1970s. Through interviews and family history, she tells us the story of the Danish feminist movement through these women, who collectively made the decision to raise her as a community.

It was a wonderful balance, to hear about these social movements from someone so intimately tied to them, but also a step removed from those who were actually there. She doesn’t shy away from their conflicts and disagreements, but also gives plenty of credit and celebration to the gains made by the group.

Many of the conversations being had by these activists fifty years ago are conversations we are still having today, whereas some feel blindingly obvious and outdated. What this book did really well was lay out the concerns and nuances in these conversations, not disparaging the different viewpoints while still looking back with reflection.

This book is a valuable insight into the second-wave feminist movement, particularly in this part of the world, and is a heartfelt celebration of the lives these women led.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

It was an interesting read and unlike anything I’ve ever really read before. An unexpected favorite!

What can seven Danish women do for the feminist movement? The answer: a lot!

My Seven Mothers is a non-fiction book following a group of seven Danish women as they help launch the feminist movement in Denmark in the 1970s. Most of the main characters are in their early twenties and come from very different backgrounds. You get to dive deep into their upbringings, their passions, and their aspirations for a better Denmark for women. The book focuses on these seven women living in Copenhagen’s first-ever Women’s Commune, who end up raising a child (the author!) together.

This was a fascinating historical and anthropological read. The depth of the research and the author’s extensive knowledge of the main characters help you fully immerse yourself in each of their journeys, and root for them! Although the book is primarily a factual recollection of the women’s lives, it does a great job of contextualizing their actions within the larger feminist movement and the historical changes that took place in 1970s and 1980s Denmark.

The author does a great job of incorporating everyone’s voice, but it’s incredibly difficult to create a seamless narrative thread when so many interconnected stories are present and so many characters play key roles. I struggled to keep up with the names of the women at times, and some of their stories blended together, which made it a bit harder to follow.

All in all, I’m so glad I read it. I felt deeply inspired by the determination of these seven women to create a better place for women in Denmark; and their conviction to do it without leaving anyone behind.

Special thanks to NetGalley for giving me access to this digital ARC.

My Seven Mothers tells the story of the author, Pernille Ipsen, and how she was raised by seven women in the 1970’s Denmark, during the Women’s Movement in that country.
A lot of history, the author takes us through the lives of these seven women she was raised and grew up by, her seven mothers, and how they were influenced and influenced the movement itself. All of their challenges in a danish women’ commune, where the author grew up. More than a memoir about the author, it is a biographical tell about the seven mothers,
I absolutely loved the care and the thought the author put in the way she told their story and also all of the pictures included in the book.
Definitely not your typical memoir but a story that will stay with you .
Thank you Netgalley, and the University of Minnesota Press, for the opportunity to read this book in advance.

While I don’t read such books often, this one intrigued me from the very start. The cover and especially the title were eye catching enough that I read the description and got really interested. I was so happy to see that the content of the book itself was just as interesting!
The story revolves around seven young women in the 1970s Denmark who aside from their involvement in redefining women’s place in society, decided that they’d also raise a child, together. That child is, of course, the author, who takes us on a journey to shed light upon the beginning of the Women’s Movement, how it came to be such a widespread phenomenon across the country (and even further), the dynamics between multiple groups of the time - women, lesbians, gays, working class etc. - but also her mothers’ self discovery process, both as individuals, and later on, as mothers.
All that have been printed on paper with the help of countless archives that the author has consulted, including plenty photos that really help visualise the story, but most importantly with the help of her mothers. Them recounting their experiences was the very inspiration of this achievement. One of my favourite aspects of this book is how personal it feels. The author doesn’t hide or even try to excuse her mothers’ behaviour whenever she mentions their actions, however questionable they may seem. She doesn’t hide the conflicts that occurred. She even adds her own thoughts regarding things. And I believe this really touched me.
In conclusion, this is one of the books that everyone - especially women - should read at some point. Not only to get educated in what these women accomplished in their lifetimes. But to get inspired by them too, because unfortunately, the themes this book discusses are no less relevant today than they were in 1970s.

I sincerely thank both NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read such great book!! Big thanks - and congratulations - to the author as well, for giving life to such a project!! Special shoutout to the translator, who did a magnificent job in making sure the book doesn’t miss its charm just because of the different language!

Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book before its release.

"My Seven Mothers" by Pernille Ipsen explores the lives of seven women who influenced Ipsen while she grew up in a Danish commune. It's not necessarily a memoir. It is told through a journalist lens. The backdrop is the women's movement in Denmark. Ipsen takes us through the women's movement in Denmark, how her seven mothers influenced/were influenced by the women's movement and how her birth impacted them. The book does a good job highlighting how different ideologies can impact a movement and how they can co-exist in lieu of a shared goal. Ipsen gives us personal profiles of the seven women through the use of interviews and experiences. I enjoyed it as an informative period piece but not necessarily a book I would read again.

This is the story of a girl who was raised by seven mothers during the women’s movement in Denmark. The women came together on a commune where they organized the movement. It feels a bit less like a memoir and more like a journalistic piece documenting the movement with interviews. I actually think it would be a great book to include on a syllabus, and for book clubs that want something totally different.

This is and absolutely beautiful memoir about growing up during the women’s movement of the 70s in Denmark. It highlights the challenges of communal living, changing ideologies in an ever changing world, and explores what makes a family and also what makes a mother.

This is a must read!

Thank you to NetGalley and University of Minnesota Press for the advanced copy!

My Seven Mothers is a shared biography of the author's seven mothers -- women who came together in the early 1970's as a core organizing commune for the feminist movement in Denmark. The author herself takes a journalist's approach to this storytelling, interviewing and researching this time period. Perhaps because she is so young and has little personal memories of this time and because the story she is telling is that of her mothers, not herself, this is much less a memoir that I expected. Not a criticism, though. Her storytelling is careful and considered and thoughtful. It's an interesting look at a specific moment in time and is an educational lens for current feminists and the women's movement.

This memoir is a masterpiece, reading like a novel that will captivate your heart.

It takes place in Denmark during the feminist movement in the 1970's and is a powerful
exploration of communal living, child rearing and feminism during this time period. It's a must-read that will leave you feeling inspired.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this before its release in October.

Was definitely like nothing I've read before. Made for very interesting reading. Detailed in the women's movement and 7 woman. The book was thoughtful and well written. Something that I will remember.

Thanks to the author the publisher and Netgalley for an early release of this book.

Enjoyed this! It was an interesting read and unlike anything I’ve ever really read before so was a nice change to what I’m used to!

"My Seven Mothers" by Pernille Ipsen explores the lives of seven women in a Danish women's commune where Ipsen grew up. Through interviews and archives, Ipsen crafts a collective biography that blends personal and political narratives. The book offers a nuanced look at the Danish women's movement of the 1970s, highlighting the women's experiences and radicalization. Ipsen's writing is engaging, and her unique perspective provides new insights into feminist history. This book is a valuable contribution to the field, offering a thought-provoking exploration of family, identity, and activism. A compelling read for those interested in feminist history and collective biography.