--- product_id: 570793438 title: "Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood" price: "VT7990" currency: VUV in_stock: false reviews_count: 11 url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/570793438-matrescence-on-the-metamorphosis-of-pregnancy-childbirth-and-motherhood store_origin: VU region: Vanuatu --- # Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood **Price:** VT7990 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood - **How much does it cost?** VT7990 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/570793438-matrescence-on-the-metamorphosis-of-pregnancy-childbirth-and-motherhood) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Review: A very truthful and honest account - A must read if you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant. Very honest and thoughtful. Really well written. Review: Perhaps we might all become just a little more compassionate after reading Matrescence. - I devoured this book over the course of 2 weeks after my husband showed me an article he thought I’d be interested in that mentioned it. He knows me well 😁 Never before has my actual experience of early motherhood been articulated with such clarity and honesty. I believe that many moms will feel seen and heard in their motherhood journey in a way that previously has only been ‘allowed’ to be expressed using humor. It seems to be a new concept for the raw reality of motherhood to be expressed as a serious topic. ‘Matrescence’ is a little like the TV show Motherland, meets David Attenborough, meets Germaine Greer. The author weaves together her own raw experience as a mother, with her early immersion in feminist education and her knowledge as a science and nature writer (resulting in the reader contemplating their motherhood journey alongside that of a mother spider who is consumed by her spiderlings days after they hatch…and other such wonders in nature). The result is a wonderful story of one woman’s brutally truthful experience of matrescence, interspersed with examples of metamorphosis and matrescence from other species, as if to put the human experience of motherhood into a much bigger context, whilst also managing to deliver a summary history of motherhood paradigms and ideologies throughout the ages. In this, the author has accomplished quite a feat. All of this is delivered unapologetically, with a throbbing undercurrent of an earnest feminist perspective. A perspective that acknowledges both the ‘emancipation’ of women from the home by liberal feminists of the 70’s and 80’s, and the failures of subsequent feminist activity to address the sociological and biological realities of motherhood in the decades that followed, which have contributed in part to the ‘more punishing’ institution of motherhood’ that women entering matrescence in the early 21st century have faced. It is illuminating. It is affirming. It is moving. Her anecdotes from early motherhood, stirred emotions in me because of the way they touched nerves that I didn’t know were still exposed. The pinball between abject panic and relief that is caring for a toddler. The desperation and joy. The powerlessness and the fulfillment. I could go on and on about this book but I really just think you should read it. New and aspiring moms should read it to supplement their NCT classes and round out their expectations of the next few years. All men should read it to give them an understanding of what their wives, mothers, sisters, co-workers, the woman serving him in a shop, are going through or have gone through, and the part they can play on a practical level to redress some of the societal imbalances that have crept into being. I think we might all become just a little more compassionate after reading it. If you have been a mom with children of any age, you will find something here that gives you some ‘aha’ moments…whether that’s learning how the institution of motherhood has been manipulated to suit altering political agendas, or learning how neuroscience is now beginning to explain why a Motherhood Identity crisis actually occurs, or understanding the best way to support a mum with young children in 2023, whose reality is likely to be very different from our own experience of matrescence, there is something here for every one. The author touches on the impact of matrescence on identity throughout the book and towards the end, sums up, with seeming resignation, that after the birth of her 2nd child, about 2 years after her first, “any delusion of self-reliance and independence were truly shattered.” And it is from this shattering that we have the opportunity to reconstruct our identity, and emerge from matrescence with greater resilience, more self-compassion and increased confidence to define our own motherhood journey rather than drop into the slip stream of the prevailing ideology of the day. Lucy, thank you. You have done us all a great service and I think the ripples of this book will contribute to empowering individual women to take the reins of their own matrescence and direct it back to their center. Perhaps we mother best when we free ourselves from all the models, ideologies, theories and philosophies of ‘experts', who often have their own agenda behind what we ‘should’ be doing as mothers. Perhaps the greatest gift of matrescence, the process, is the opportunity to re-construct ourselves on our own terms. ‘Matrescence’ the book will embolden you to do so. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 645 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 3 in Pregnancy & Childbirth 4 in Biology (Books) 5 in Baby Development | | Customer reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,139) | | Dimensions | 12.8 x 1.7 x 19.8 cm | | Edition | 1st | | ISBN-10 | 1802061304 | | ISBN-13 | 978-1802061307 | | Item weight | 238 g | | Language | English | | Print length | 320 pages | | Publication date | 6 Jun. 2024 | | Publisher | Penguin | ## Images ![Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71ftsoVTS4L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A very truthful and honest account *by J***A on 15 December 2025* A must read if you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant. Very honest and thoughtful. Really well written. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Perhaps we might all become just a little more compassionate after reading Matrescence. *by K***Y on 30 July 2023* I devoured this book over the course of 2 weeks after my husband showed me an article he thought I’d be interested in that mentioned it. He knows me well 😁 Never before has my actual experience of early motherhood been articulated with such clarity and honesty. I believe that many moms will feel seen and heard in their motherhood journey in a way that previously has only been ‘allowed’ to be expressed using humor. It seems to be a new concept for the raw reality of motherhood to be expressed as a serious topic. ‘Matrescence’ is a little like the TV show Motherland, meets David Attenborough, meets Germaine Greer. The author weaves together her own raw experience as a mother, with her early immersion in feminist education and her knowledge as a science and nature writer (resulting in the reader contemplating their motherhood journey alongside that of a mother spider who is consumed by her spiderlings days after they hatch…and other such wonders in nature). The result is a wonderful story of one woman’s brutally truthful experience of matrescence, interspersed with examples of metamorphosis and matrescence from other species, as if to put the human experience of motherhood into a much bigger context, whilst also managing to deliver a summary history of motherhood paradigms and ideologies throughout the ages. In this, the author has accomplished quite a feat. All of this is delivered unapologetically, with a throbbing undercurrent of an earnest feminist perspective. A perspective that acknowledges both the ‘emancipation’ of women from the home by liberal feminists of the 70’s and 80’s, and the failures of subsequent feminist activity to address the sociological and biological realities of motherhood in the decades that followed, which have contributed in part to the ‘more punishing’ institution of motherhood’ that women entering matrescence in the early 21st century have faced. It is illuminating. It is affirming. It is moving. Her anecdotes from early motherhood, stirred emotions in me because of the way they touched nerves that I didn’t know were still exposed. The pinball between abject panic and relief that is caring for a toddler. The desperation and joy. The powerlessness and the fulfillment. I could go on and on about this book but I really just think you should read it. New and aspiring moms should read it to supplement their NCT classes and round out their expectations of the next few years. All men should read it to give them an understanding of what their wives, mothers, sisters, co-workers, the woman serving him in a shop, are going through or have gone through, and the part they can play on a practical level to redress some of the societal imbalances that have crept into being. I think we might all become just a little more compassionate after reading it. If you have been a mom with children of any age, you will find something here that gives you some ‘aha’ moments…whether that’s learning how the institution of motherhood has been manipulated to suit altering political agendas, or learning how neuroscience is now beginning to explain why a Motherhood Identity crisis actually occurs, or understanding the best way to support a mum with young children in 2023, whose reality is likely to be very different from our own experience of matrescence, there is something here for every one. The author touches on the impact of matrescence on identity throughout the book and towards the end, sums up, with seeming resignation, that after the birth of her 2nd child, about 2 years after her first, “any delusion of self-reliance and independence were truly shattered.” And it is from this shattering that we have the opportunity to reconstruct our identity, and emerge from matrescence with greater resilience, more self-compassion and increased confidence to define our own motherhood journey rather than drop into the slip stream of the prevailing ideology of the day. Lucy, thank you. You have done us all a great service and I think the ripples of this book will contribute to empowering individual women to take the reins of their own matrescence and direct it back to their center. Perhaps we mother best when we free ourselves from all the models, ideologies, theories and philosophies of ‘experts', who often have their own agenda behind what we ‘should’ be doing as mothers. Perhaps the greatest gift of matrescence, the process, is the opportunity to re-construct ourselves on our own terms. ‘Matrescence’ the book will embolden you to do so. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Thoughtful and enlightening *by E***O on 11 July 2023* This is , for me, quite a difficult read- hard to get into as some of the devices used by the author to illustrate her ideas are a bit odd and not helpful. However as a truthful exploration of motherhood, how it affects you and the lasting effects experienced, it is a powerful testimony. Women need a bit more of this empowering truth as do the rest of society. That includes government. ## Frequently Bought Together - Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood - The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did): The million-copy selling parenting book from the Sunday Times bestselling psychotherapist - Motherkind: Become the happiest, most confident mum with the new Sunday Times best-selling book from host of the hit podcast --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/570793438-matrescence-on-the-metamorphosis-of-pregnancy-childbirth-and-motherhood](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/570793438-matrescence-on-the-metamorphosis-of-pregnancy-childbirth-and-motherhood) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu* *Store origin: VU* *Last updated: 2026-05-12*