Shanta Everington is Associate Lecturer in Creative Writing at The Open University, UK, where she gained her PhD in Creative Writing. A creative and critical writer working across a range of forms, much of Shanta’s writing explores recurring themes of difference, identity and belonging. Previous books include the novel Marilyn and Me (2007), narrated by a young woman with a learning disability who models herself on Marilyn Monroe, and young adult novel XY (2014), set in a dystopian world where humans are born intersex with gender assigned at birth. She is also a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow (2021–23) and a member of the National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE).

• Part I: Introduction1. Birthing the book: Shanta’s story part I 2. Politics and power Part II: Experimental life writing3. Alison’s story4. Charlotte’s story 5. Shanta’s story part II 6. Rubi’s story 7. Robin’s story 8. Lorraine’s story 9. Shanta’s story part III 10. Margaret’s story 11. Contextual note Part III: Conclusion12. Contributing to new understandings of motherhood through expansion and analysis of life writing forms

"Through its use of interviews combined with a range of creative and editorial methods, the book brings to life stories relating to 'motherhood' that go beyond the biological mother ... Each chapter charts a different individual's experiences and includes donation, recipients, adopters, donors or mothers whose children were adopted, mothers through surrogacy or surrogates. The intimacy and the depth of exploration make it deeply moving, enriched all the more by the author's own experiences, impressions and poetic creations woven in the fabric of her interviewees' stories."Appeared in Donor Conception Network Journal winter edition.