CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 9/1/2025

'Mothering Myths' for Labor Day

Featured spreads are from Mothering Myths: An ABC of Art, Birth and Care, the book that every cool mother should have—whether they’ve labored in birth, or labored as a caregiver, or just labored emotionally, intellectually and psychologically to keep up with the barrage of information that mothers are expected to ingest and perfect as the unsung heroes of every workforce. Spanning from Abortifacient Plants to Yellow Pill with stops everywhere from Childless Cat Lady to Fertility, Othermothers, Reproductive Justice, Wetnurse and more this enlightening illustrated abecedarium follows the format of Valiz’s previous best-seller, On the Necessity of Gardening: An ABC of Art, Botany and Cultivation. “This book is not so much a celebration of mothers’ experiences, although they are certainly woven into it, but rather it traces the emancipation of motherhood, mothering and caring for others,” editors Laurie Cluitmans and Heske ten Cate write in their Introduction. “It also reflects a quest, which is certainly not complete nor does it aim to be. After all, emancipation is still in full swing and must be secured and defended each day.”