raw content

'raw content is a work of dark, aching beauty' Helen Jukes 'A stunning mix of horror and tenderness, love and despair. It's rare to see such a raw and real account of early motherhood' Kirsty Logan 'No other novel has explored the terrifying and joyful transformations of parenthood with such dazzling power' Abi Curtis 'Peter Sutcliffe, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley are the ghosts that haunt Grace's youth, but it is the land itself that remains pregnant with dread, the empty mills and the rushing rivers both poignant and alive' Heather Parry 'The landscape of Yorkshire is beautifully depicted' NB Magazine 'An unervingly honest and uncensored account of the claustrophobic intensity of new motherhood . . . a rare gift' Yorkshire Life 'In this small but powerful novel a harsh and haunted Northern landscape mirrors the fears and fragilities of a new mother as she gradually discovers new ways of living - and of loving' Alice Jolly When Grace becomes unexpectedly pregnant, the rush of excitement and fear that she experiences is like joyriding again. Grace welcomes a partner and baby into her life, but after the euphoria of giving birth, she is overwhelmed by terrifying visions. The awesome beauty and dark history of Grace's childhood in Yorkshire moorland re-surface; she lives in terror of her baby's vulnerability and of her own capacity for violence. Grace's father is a police officer haunted by an infamous case; her sister arrives with her own damaged and exuberant chaos. Learning how to mother forces Grace to revisit all her most intimate relationships - including with her own mother; it transforms how she understands her place in the world; and it ushers in new forms of care that become sources of revelation. Tender, vivid and brave, raw content explores the most unsettling and taboo experiences of mothering with illuminating power.