FOR THE N/D & DISABLED MOTHERS

Hello!
How are you?!
A special welcome to the newbies who recently signed up!
I don’t have much time to write today — a longer post soon I promise…

I have made changes to my work with The New Mothers’ Writing Circle to reflect feedback from some of the mothers in my life and where I am now, too —

• I am adjusting some of the content of my Thursday cohort of The New Mothers’ Writing Circle, running 10th September - 29th October 2026.

• This is to make space for the many neurodivergent and disabled mothers and / or mothers of neurodivergent and disabled children (diagnosed or not) who want to explore the intensity of their matrescence through writing.

• I will lead more nervous system regulating practices, and teach additional writing exercises (which are useful for any mother, but I would suggest are essential for N/D mums).

• I am also dropping the cost to £375, to reflect that this is a bit of a pilot (although TBH many of the 200+ mums I’ve worked with are N/D, and have found the work reassuring, galvanising, transformational).

• More info / book through the website here.

• I invite you to join my Thursday group, even if this is for you but your child is older than 5.

• The sessions will all be slightly longer (2 hours 10am - 12pm BST/GMT) to allow for more time for sharing writing and thinking.

• I should also say, if you have a kid who’s over 2 but you don’t identify as being N/D, and you still want to do this programme of work with me in Sept/Oct, please come along. We are all going to discover a huge amount. Link here.

• Tuesday’s cohort (8th Sept - 27th Oct) will remain as it was. It is for mums of little ones aged 12 weeks - 2 years old. I still have 4 places. More info at the same link here.

There are several reasons for the shift in direction. I will dive into that in a future post.

As with all of my work, The New Mothers’ Writing Circle isn’t a space for offloading all of the stories we’re holding. I create the container. I hold space for us to gently, safely, begin exploring in writing some of the thoughts and feelings held in our body, mind and heart. I will signpost to specific organisations for ongoing and specialised care. My work is therapeutic but it isn’t therapy. I don’t do birth story work either but signpost to specialists who do.

CREATIVITY VS CAPITALISM.

A core part of my work has been to teach/show/embody what happens when we create rather than consume. It's been proven that we stop producing cortisol within 45 minutes of creating (for me it’s writing, but this is any sort of creative practice).

Creating help us process overwhelm. While we’re creating, our brains release dopamine, move from anxious looping thoughts to calmness. Creativity also builds connection and mental clarity – I’m amazed at what I can produce in short bursts of time and the insights which arrive. Witnessing this happen in other people is really a gift.

A core outcome of The New Mothers’ Writing Circle is the sense of wellbeing and connection which comes from real, human interaction. It’s incredible how close I can feel to mothers I’ve only met on Zoom, and how sharing words and thoughts and shittyfirstdrafts, bonds us, despite working online.

ETHOS

The New Mothers’ Writing Circle is non-judgemental, non-advice giving, experimental and anti-perfectionist. We show up as we are on any given day and we don’t apologise. We open the creative portal for the writing which wants to happen and we don’t judge it as “good” or “bad”.

We are kind and encouraging to ourselves and to the wider group without acting nice or happy or whatever face we might usually put on. As the weeks go on and the mask begins to slip, we practise what it feels like to allow ourselves to show up as our full selves, all of the identities and hats we wear as mothers.

We take some time to be with who we are today, to wave a hello/goodbye to who we were and make space, gradually, for the mothers we’re becoming. We don’t try to fix ourselves or each other.

SUMMER SERIES 2026

I’ve been setting aside time throughout the summer to run six 1-hour writing sprints across a range of themes. These have been wonderful. I love being with mothers, writing. I love writing with others.

If you want to join the 6th and last in this series — WRITING MATERNAL MONSTROSITY — the link is here.

I will share some texts on maternal ugliness, hideousness and rage, and we’ll write to this as a way to counteract and balance the narratives of maternal bliss.

My sense is that the more room we make to explore the less beautiful aspects of our matrescence, the more tender we can be to others and ourselves.

I’ll send out a post at the start of September about how to access the recordings.

OK that’s it for today. Any questions on any or all of the above!? Hit reply!

Strength & solidarity & happy weekending!

Catrin.

P.P.S If you want to take part in the Thursday cohort but it all sounds a bit, err intense, you can knit, colour in, draw or craft during the sessions, and just listen, taking part in the writing exercises as and when you can and joining in with discussions when you want to — or not.

P.P.P.S You don’t need to be N/D to benefit from having a journaling practice or a writing practice or some sort of other art practice… but I honestly think we would all be healthier, happier and less obsessed with the dystopian times we seem to be living through if we took up making something :-)