MOTHERLAND
Stephanie Trethewey, Allen & Unwin, $34.99
What do you say to a woman who watches a man hurl a cat at the wall and shoot it dead – but still marries him? Did he turn out to be a great father? Sadly, no. Part of Karen’s problem was that there were no friends or family around, let alone health professionals or a community. She lived on a remote dairy farm in Tasmania.
When Trethewey heard Karen’s story, she started up the Motherland podcast as a virtual village for isolated mums. Her book is based on 14 interviews. This is no peepshow because Trethewey has been there. She knows firsthand the loneliness, depression, exhaustion and boredom these rural mums face.
One account comes from writer Fleur McDonald, whose 20 novels depict the
