The Last Girl at the End of the World

a revision

[Note: I originally published this piece a few days ago as The Only Mother Left Standing. I received very positive feedback which was as always affirming and helpful. I am so grateful to everyone who supports my work here. I truly couldn’t be doing it without you.

However, one reader was quite triggered by my language around the body. My first response, prickly exhausted writer that I am, was defensive. Ugh. That’s not what I meant! That has nothing to do without what I’m talking about. But I am a writer who writes FOR my readers, and WITH my readers. My daughter and I often shake our heads at those artists who can’t seem to understand why noone is paying attention to them, as if they were due an audience and didn’t have to earn an audience, serve an audience, imagine an audience, get to know their audience. (for extended thought on this Amanda Palmer’s The Art of Asking is essential reading for every writer, painter and musician I know.) BUT should I ignore this one member of my own audience? I mean, come on, do I have to please …. everyone?

Grrrrrrrr. If one person out out two hundred is misunderstanding my message how does that become magnified if my book is as successfull as I want it to be? Do I want that? Of course not. Big sigh. Back to the drawing board.

I have re-written the piece, hoping to clarify what I am saying about the Virgin Mary, hoping to remove any language that would come across as body-shaming in any way. What do you think? Here is the revised piece with its new title. It still comes as the final chapter in the section on The Mother Within Patriarchy. It still sits in context for all that was said before but I hope the message is clearer