A place on the tree

Grieving the person you were before motherhood

Becoming a mother can bring love for a child alongside grief for the freedom, identity, relationships, and possibilities that belonged to life before motherhood. The loss can feel shameful when the mother believes she should feel only grateful and fulfilled.

1 person has stood here

Does this feel close to something you’ve lived? Tell your own part. What you tell becomes your Ember, and it stays yours.

Nearby on the tree

Grieving the death of a mother4
Seeing your child become independent for the first time1
Grieving the future imagined with a former partner2
Grieving the loss of someone close3
Hiding the desire to live as a woman2
Grieving a love that never became a relationship2

Only the place shows here. What people told stays theirs.