I love memoirs and biographies. I recently read the memoir of Mary-Ann Kirkby "I Am Hutterite" The fascinating true story of a young woman's journey to reclaim her Heritage.
What really impressed me the most was the treatment of the pregnant women by the colony. I scanned that part so you can read how well a mother was treated in comparison with today's mother or even a mother of 30 years ago. These days if you have a normal birth (no cesarean required ) you are out of the hospital in 2-3 days. With a colicky baby, engorged breasts (if you have chosen to nurse), hurting in unmentionable places, they send you home completely unprepared. Most probably your family lives far away and your husband or partner is as clueless as you are, while you are dealing with this new baby. At the same time your hormones are playing havoc with your body, while you need to figure out how to deal with a crying baby, how to feed it and take care of it, and of course take care of yourself and your significant other. There is nobody to chop for you, or prepare you a meal, or give you some advise so you are left alone to your own defenses.
No wonder some women experience postpartum depression after the birth of their child. The famous: "It takes a village to raise a child " doesn't apply these days.
There is no village really... just two people or sometimes just one ... inexperienced and scared doing what they think is appropriate and hoping for the best!!!
Here is the excerpt from her book:
I enjoyed the rest of the book and some times it made my cry. I especially liked the last paragraph of her book on page 190.
"As Catherine bared her soul, I understood for the first time that freedom is not found on a Hutterite colony any more that it is found off the colony. True freedom is an inside job-it is taking responsibility for ourselves and daring to confront and release the anger and resentment that keeps us from leading meaningful lives. My parents had wanted us to have that freedom by not saddling us with their baggage, but most of all, by pursuing the path of forgiveness themselves. Now it was up to us to rise to the challenge."
P.S You can click on the paragraphs so you can see them on a bigger format.
