Reviews by Alice Ellerby and Jess Hazel
Swell by Maria Ferguson, Penguin
Swell, Maria Ferguson’s second poetry collection, is a powerful documentation of one woman’s experience of becoming a mother. Navigating complex feelings around family, class and domesticity, observing her changing body, and moving from loss towards renewal, Ferguson’s poems offer a radical and contemporary portrayal of an experience as old as time.
The tone shifts as Ferguson’s circumstances change – living as a young couple, buying a house, pregnancy, miscarriage, the anxiety of being pregnant again, new motherhood. Though the poems are deeply personal, they share a narrative that unites many, and there’s opportunity for people to feel their own stories as they read them.
The writing is eloquent and astute across many thoughts: the brutality of growing old; the absurdity of seeing a past lover in the play park; inheritance tax; the self-loathing of not being able to keep house plants alive; the nine-month agony before you can safely hold your baby; the longing for yourself when you have a newborn.
She delivers lines with such force, like this one from ‘Notes on Our Marriage’: “When my son was born / I still thought I loved my husband most of all. / Then one day – bam. The bus hit.”
Unflinching and tender, I urge you to read this beautiful collection. AE
The Honesty Box: The Diary of a Broken Marriage, a Mental Health Crisis and a Large Marrow by Lucy Brazier, Bloomsbury
Lucy Brazier is at the end of her tether when we meet her at the start of this memoir. After another dismal Christmas, she and her husband, Steve, have decided to break up. Years of Steve’s depression and mood swings have taken their toll on Lucy, their three children and, of course, on Steve himself.
But as Steve and Lucy work out how to unpick their lives, a chain of events leads to Steve’s diagnosis of ADHD and autism. As they come to terms with the revelation of Steve’s neurodivergence, glimmers of understanding emerge and the couple work through their newly framed reality.
This is the backdrop to family life as, somewhat incongruously, Lucy, with Steve’s help, begins working on an honesty box, growing and sourcing produce to sell from a table outside their home. This project offers a focus outside the stress and sadness, and connects Lucy to some of the things she loves: gardening, cooking, community.
Throughout the book, we learn about the choices Lucy has made that took her from an all-consuming job as a talent agent in London, to Dorset, at first working with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall before becoming a full-time ghostwriter. Her reflections on parenthood versus career are interesting, and she offers thought-provoking reflections on the sacrifices she’s made and the challenge of living with her decisions, even ones she’s pleased she made. So too is she interesting on life in the countryside, being treated as an incomer despite having lived in the same village for over 15 years, and I love the vignettes of her year-round sea swimming.
It seems the ‘honesty’ of the title refers not just to the way Lucy’s produce is paid for, but also the way she shares her feelings throughout the book. She’s experienced real challenges in her relationship and her wellbeing has been severely impacted by her struggles to understand some of Steve’s behaviour. Diagnosis, for Steve, is not only positive for him as an individual, but for Lucy too, and it has hopeful ramifications for their relationship. Recognising one’s needs and reimagining expectations and ways of doing things can go a long way to alleviating the stress of trying to conform to society’s narrow set of standards. Offering a partner’s perspective, this is a really helpful book for people who might share the author’s experience. AE
The Little Book of Parenting: How to Nurture Your Child to Their Full Potential by Chinyelu Kunz, Sheldon Press
As a Waldorf Early Childhood Educator, Chinyelu Kunz’s approach to parenting is influenced by principles of imagination, nature and creativity. This book is in three sections. Broadly, the first part, Unlocking Your Child’s Potential, outlines how to relate to your child and includes ways to embrace unconditional love and nurture confidence and self-leadership. Kunz ascribes to gentle parenting. “Gentle parenting means that you will avoid yelling, shaming, criticizing, blaming, and being unkind or speaking hurtful words to your child… It means that as you parent your focus will be on understanding your child, having respect for them as a growing, developing human being, having compassion and empathy especially when they are having a hard time, and establishing and holding boundaries.”
In part two, Building a Healthy Foundation, she discusses day-to-day activities – sleep, mealtimes, play, time in nature. She comes back to the idea of rhythm and consistency again and again as ways to help children feel safe, secure and confident, support growth and development, create healthy habits, and ease transitions. She recommends being intentional about creating a family culture that fosters connections, meaningful traditions and shared values, and she empowers readers with ways to do this.
I found part three fascinating, Supporting Your Child’s Wellbeing. I took a lot from the chapter on understanding your child’s temperament, based on the four types explored by Rudolph Steiner: sanguine (pleasure-seeking and sociable), choleric (decisive, strong-willed), melancholic (analytical and literal), and phlegmatic (relaxed and thoughtful). She offers detailed insight into these four personality types and how, by better understanding them, you can work with them to support your child’s needs. Part three also explores understanding emotional regulation – your own and your child’s – and there is some very helpful guidance about how to support yourself when you feel overwhelmed by your child’s emotions, and what work you might need to do to help you to manage this, with targeted journal points as a starting point.
This is a supportive book for parents who want to find ways to slow down and connect with their children, with daily rhythms that are grounded in the natural world. AE
Connecting Threads: Tactile Social History by Lynn Setterington, Quickthorn
Connecting Threads is a collection of twelve textile projects from the past forty years, exploring both personal and social themes. As Setterington says in the introduction, “The cloths are holders of memories, with each stitch a unique record, a sensory reminder.”
The projects cover a variety of works, from small hand-embroidered pieces reflecting life in south London and Yorkshire, to large banners created with construction workers in the north of England. Setterington takes us through her creative process – how ideas develop, the choices she makes, and how each project connects personal stories with bigger social issues. Themes like identity, belonging, sustainability and community are woven into the work, offering a sensory look at life today.
I was particularly interested to learn about kantha quilts and their origins in the Bengal area, where old saris were recycled into new cloth. The stitching would celebrate day-to-day activities, often depicting stories and symbols alongside geometric designs. They are an important part of traditional folk art and Setterington shows us several of her own projects influenced by this practice, with different motifs and symbolism. It’s impossible not to feel inspired by these works. A handmade quilt is such a joyful thing and each one is so wonderfully unique!
The book also looks at Setterington’s work running community workshops, where she shares her knowledge and shows how textile art can be transformative. It made me think of a couple of friends who worked on the Plymouth Gansey project, knitting fisherman’s jumpers to help revive their local heritage pattern (an endangered traditional craft). One of them added runes to the sleeve – a personal touch and signature of the maker – much like the ones Setterington incorporates into her own work.
Connecting Threads is a reminder of how textiles help us connect with one another, our past, and the world around us. Setterington shows us how hand-stitching can be a powerful way to express creativity, build community and tell stories. An inspiring read for anyone – from the menders to the quilt makers among us! JH
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Published in issue 94. Accurate at the time this issue went to print.
