The Motherhood Myth: A Depth Therapist’s Guide to Redefine Parenting, Reimagine Intimacy, and Reclaim the Self

All mothers experience a massive identity shift, but as a culture, we’ve lost touch with the myths, stories, and ancestral knowledge that once guided us through this ego explosion. As a depth psychotherapist and new mom, Vanessa Bennett has spent countless hours with female clients, couples, and herself experiencing the struggle and dissolution of Self that comes through the initiation into motherhood. By applying the principles of depth psychology, she’s found the key to disrupting the “getting through” mentality of motherhood. Depth psychology explores the human psyche’s need to understand its place in the collective and create a differentiated sense of Self, and it’s through this lens that The Motherhood Myth helps us reclaim our sovereignty and find the larger purpose of parenting and partnership. “By reacquainting ourselves with myths and feminine forces like Demeter and Baba Yaga, those whose traits and stories empower and guide us to understand and reclaim aspects of ourselves that we have lost touch with, lay dormant, or have been purposely cut off by society, we can finally navigate and integrate this tumultuous transition,” says Bennett. Throughout this guide, Bennett offers practical tools to help us discover and embody an unshakable sense of Self. She also provides skills and scripts to increase capacity for conflict, vulnerability, and discomfort.