Chapters in this book

1. Front Matter i
2. contents vii
3. Preface xi
4. Introduction xvii
5. room to write
6. Drafts 1–12 (Not Including 11) 3
7. The Crib and the Desk 13
8. Motherhood and Other Possibilities 23
9. Opposing Forces 31
10. A Double Life 36
11. becoming a writer
12. My Breasts Had Become Eyes 53
13. Other Is the Longest Part of Mothering: Writing and Parenting on the Edge 61
14. A Mother, Writing 70
15. Elements 80
16. & in our languages, mother is the land 91
17. mothering first
18. A Mum’s Guide to Outer Space 103
19. The Sun Knows What It Does 112
20. Wearing Different Hats: Mothering, Writing, and Keeping Your Sanity 119
21. Transformations 128
22. the muse
23. Mama’s Voices 139
24. The Joshua Stone 156
25. Motherhood and the Muses 163
26. Dreams: The First, Irreplaceable Maps 171
27. Mother to Vision 181
28. Only a Day to Visit 188
29. Words of Advice
30. Record of a Live Birth, and Other Stories 195
31. Stretch Marks 212
32. Motherlodes, Muses, Mapmakers 220
33. Letters to a Young Mother Who Writes 229
34. About The Authors 241
35. Acknowledgments 251
36. Bibliography 253