On this episode of Book Journeys, Vice President for The Author Incubator, Jenn McRobbie, interviews Christine Erickson, author of The Mother Within: A Guide To Accepting Your Childless Journey.
As with a lot of authors, Christine wrote The Mother Within based on her own experiences, springing from a point in her life when she realized that she was probably not going to have a child. The impact of that realization made her break down and cry, and it was also at that moment that she realized that she had a maternal heart within her, child or not, and that that would never go away. It was then that she began her journey of acceptance of her not having a child, and the book sprang from her desire to share this realization with other childless women.
Christine admits she originally wrote The Mother Within for women who were childless by circumstance, rather than by choice, but she also noted that it could also apply to women who were childless for other reasons and who are thus grieving because of that, particularly since there is presently still a stigma attached to being childless.
Writing out the book resulted in Christine occasionally feeling physical pain, such as pain in her back or in her neck, while she was doing so – a result of the truths that came out of her as she was writing. Christine remarked that this was a normal part of the process for her, and because she had a coach she had the tools to handle it. Christine also noted that, as she was a procrastinator and overanalyzer, it was good that she had the tools and the process that she followed, as these helped keep her on track. Letting go of her perfectionism helped, too, as did remembering the whole picture of what it was that she wanted to achieve with her writing.
Christine noted that the best thing to come out of her book was the connections with other women who were in similar straits as she is in, and gave an example of a coaching session she had with clients and horses earlier this year. She explained that she coaches using horses as a coaching aid, noting that horses live in the moment and interact with people and the world the way these presently are, and that they would sense the way a person shows up. The horses’ reactions would give feedback to that person, and Christine remarks that what her clients learn when interacting with horses are lessons they can take with them when they interact with other human beings.
Christine also noted that men can also have concerns about being childless, but that this isn’t given as much consideration, and that the social reactions to these are somewhat different from those given to women. To those would-be authors who are considering writing a book, Christine recommends that they do not go at it alone, to find somebody who knows what they are doing, and to be kind to themselves during the process.
Listen to the Christine Erickson Interview on Book Journeys Radio
Christine Erickson Interview Transcript
DOWNLOAD the PDF: Book Journeys Author Interview – Christine Erickson – Nov. 10, 2016
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