Pickled – A portrait of motherhood sandwiched between responsibilities

54

Pickled: A Portrait of Motherhood Sandwiched Between Responsibilities is a raw, real, and honest reflection of a woman in the season of becoming a mother. There is so much thought and gratitude woven into the words the author has penned not only in the acknowledgements but also in the prologue. That alone makes you want to read this little book, one that somehow holds an ocean of emotions within its pages.

Words that capture the heart of Pickled-A Portrait of motherhood

“To be mothered while becoming a mother myself is a circle so holy.”

I wasn’t blessed enough to be mothered by my birth mother during my own motherhood phase. But I owe so much to the mother I gained through marriage for creating that beautiful, nurturing environment around me.

Mothers have so aptly been described as Pickled. It makes so much sense preserved in duty, aged in patience, and marinated in everyone else’s needs.

“Life, they said, was better kept within reach.”

If my father were to read this today, he would probably nod and say that he believed the same back then. And it wasn’t just our mothers. Some of us millennials were nearly pickled in the same way.

Pickled- A portrait of motherhood book all about?

The author beautifully highlights how mothers of that generation mastered the art of self-erasure. Constantly placing everyone else’s needs before their own. Yet what moved me most was that this generation, sandwiched between caring for ageing parents and raising children expected to achieve more, never seemed to restrict their children’s freedom. Instead, they encouraged them to soar higher.

Their preparation to welcome their grandchildren was another reminder of that love. The author’s description of how much thought mothers put into becoming grandmothers made me miss my mother all the more. She had started planning for my child even before I had conceived.

Not once, not twice, but with almost every turn of the page, this book made me miss my mother.

The way the author describes what she wants to be like while her child is growing inside her, and the kind of mother she hopes to become, is deeply heartfelt.

Srushti Ma’am, you have no idea how deeply this book has touched me. As a woman and a mother, so much of what you’ve written felt like you were putting words to emotions I have carried quietly for years. I found myself pausing, reflecting, and feeling grateful that someone had noticed these little, often unspoken parts of motherhood. I know I’m not the only woman who will feel this way. So, from one woman and mother to another—thank you for writing this book. 

What I felt in my becoming phase

At a time when a woman’s hormones are all over the place, you have so precisely and beautifully woven a thread. A thread that carries something from mother to child, connecting generations in the process.

During my third trimester, I could barely realise what I was going through. Looking back, I wish I had read a book like this then. Because Pickled is not merely about pregnancy or motherhood. It is about the realisation, appreciation, and gratitude. We sometimes find only much later for the mothers and grandmothers who came before us.

I so wish I had the opportunity to read this book during that becoming phase. A phase in which you managed to feel so much. And then put those feelings into words and pages for other women to discover.

Because that period can be such a blur. Most of us are simply winging it. Dealing with nausea, countless trips to the bathroom or packing the hospital emergency bag. Or probably shopping for baby essentials, and trying to make sense of the many changes happening within us. I am sure you had your own struggles too. But amidst them, you chose to look at the beauty of that phase. Rather than simply blame everything on the hormones.

Why this book spoke to me

It took me much longer than usual to process the afterthoughts of this book. I kept thinking about it even after I had closed it. And strangely, those thoughts made me feel good.

There were so many things running through my mind after I turned the last page. To a point that I found it difficult to concentrate on my routine chores. The book had quite literally taken over.

If I ever have to put together a baby-shower gift for someone, this book will definitely occupy a special place in the curated hamper.

In fact, I would go a step further and say that Pickled deserves to be read alongside Garbha Sanskar. Because while pregnancy prepares a woman for bringing a child into the world, this book makes her pause. d look at the generations, emotions, memories, sacrifices, and love that she is carrying with her into motherhood.

Why Pickled stands out

And perhaps that is the most beautiful thing about Pickled. It reminds us that while a woman is becoming a mother, she is also becoming part of a much older story.