Motherhood

Ford writes at length about her mother and about motherhood in general, despite not having a child herself. Through descriptions of her childhood and the complex and often toxic relationship she had with her mother, she implies that the role of ‘mother’ is extremely important to a young child, who looks to their mother for support, compassion, and love. Yet, since mothers are only human, motherhood becomes a deeply flawed experience which has the potential to harm a child just as much as it has the potential to help them.

An example of Ford’s messy relationship with her own mother and the concept of motherhood is the way she shifts between the names by which she refers to her mother. While this technique is used mainly at the beginning of the book, when Ford describes her early childhood, it nevertheless is informative in showing how Ford sees...