Erin Pepler - Send Me Into the Woods Alone: Essays on Motherhood

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Its not often you read a book about parenting that is as intimate and honest as Send Me into the Woods Alone. Pepler showcases her vulnerability and insight on every page, all salted with humour and relatability. As a parent you will identify with Peplers personal journey through motherhood through her twenty-eight essays. You will commiserate with some and be an observer on others. Either way, you will fully enjoy every word, knowing that you are not alone. Peplers got you! Jane Bradley, editor of ParentsCanada

A kind and compassionate book that acknowledges all the emotional heavy lifting that is motherhood. Send Me into the Woods Alone is the perfect antidote to that guilt-inducing social media post that has you questioning every parenting decision youve ever made and/or your decision to become a parent at all. Erin Pepler understands the struggle and shes there to offer a well-timed message of encouragement, just when you need it most. Easily the most validating book youll read this year. Ann Douglas, author of Happy Parents, Happy Kids and The Mother of All Pregnancy Books

Calling a collection of parenting essays Send Me into the Woods Alone is a stroke of genius, but Erin Pepler doesnt spend all of her truth-telling humor on the title. Her witty, warm stories will make you laugh in recognition at the absurd contradictions, frustrations, and complexities of modern motherhood/life in general. With a rare dry humor, Erin gives herself, and her reader, the space togasp!complain about some of the less thrilling parts of parenting, and to acknowledge that its always okay to not feel okay. She even cheerfully recognizes the sheer boredom that wed all like to pretend doesnt exist. (When I read, Chutes and Ladders is not a game, its a curse, I gave a silent cheer). On the next page, though, youll find yourself with a sudden lump in your throat when she deftly captures the mysterious, fierce love that, thankfully, also comes with the territory. April Daniels Hussar, managing editor of Romper

Erin Peplers collection of honest, funny, and relatable essays is infused with hard-won wisdom and insights into the strange, difficult, and wonderful world of motherhood. Reading Peplers essays is like hanging out with your best mom-friendthe one who puts it all out there, makes you feel normal, and has you laughing so hard you pee a bit. Kim Shiffman, editor-in-chief of Todays Parent

Send Me into the Woods Alone is one of the most supportive books on parenting Ive ever read. Its insightful, heartwarming and oh-so-funny. This is a must-read for mothers. Shannon Lee Simmons, author of Worry-Free Money

Essays On Motherhood

by Erin Pepler

Invisible Publishing

Halifax & Prince Edward County

Erin Pepler, 2022

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any method, without the prior written consent of the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may use brief excerpts in a review, or, in the case of photocopying in Canada, a licence from Access Copyright.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: Send me into the woods alone : essays / Erin Pepler.

Names: Pepler, Erin, author.

Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20210347783

Canadiana (ebook) 20210347821

ISBN 9781988784892 (softcover)

ISBN 9781988784939 (HTML)

Subjects: LCGFT: Essays.

Classification: LCC PS8631.E645 S46 2022 | DDC C814/.6dc23

Edited by Andrew Faulkner

Cover design by Megan Fildes

Invisible Publishing | Halifax & Prince Edward County

www.invisiblepublishing.com

Published with the generous assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Government of Canada.

For OJP and HTP

I began writing essays for this collection sometime in 2018, signed a contract with my publisher in the summer of 2019, and handed in a first draft of my manuscript in the spring of 2020. This timeline means that almost everything Ive written in the next 200ish pages is from an era that a lot of us now refer to as the before times. Before the pandemic, before face masks and the great toilet paper shortage, before murder hornets and Tiger King. Before school closures and online drinks and Zoom fatigue. Back when parenting was just regular hard instead of pandemic hard.

There is a lot to say about the past two years, but I cannot and will not say it here. There is no way to adequately reflect on something that isnt over. Send Me into the Woods Alone was written pre-pandemic and this authors note is being written during the fourth wave. When the book hits shelves in the spring of 2022, things will likely be different than they are nowbut how? I have no idea. I hope its some sort of joyful post-pandemic rumspringa, but anything is possible. I used to use that phrase loosely, but these days, it feels extremely literal. Anything is possible.

So here we are, hopefully nearing the end of a pandemic, doing the best we can. I would like to say Im hashtag vaxxed and relaxed but more realistically, Im vaxxed and cautiously optimistic about the future. Things are bound to get better. I mean, its not like billionaires are going to start flying to space for fun in the middle of a global health crisis, right? (Just kidding, that totally happened.)

What I will say is this: if your mental health suffered during this pandemic, youre not alone. If friendships and family relationships were tested, same. If you feel worn out and worn down, I hear you. My pandemic experience was dripping with privilege, and I still feel like that melty stub of a candle you should have tossed out months ago but keep trying to light anyway. Pretty much everyone admits theyre burnt out. The rest are lying. This chapter of our lives has highlighted kindness and resilience but also exposed a lot of selfishness and an inability to put others first. Its been hard. And its been really hard on moms.

I have never been more dedicated to protecting my kids physical and mental health or spent more time with them, and somehow Ive never felt like a worse mom. Its hard to make decisions about risk mitigation for months on end and not question at least some of your choices. I did my best, and I bet you did too. But wow, it wasnt fun.

I do see a light at the end of the tunnel. By the time this book is published, we could be talking about the pandemic in the past tense. Or maybe the world is still a dumpster fire. I truly do not know. I feel like Im writing a letter to the future right now. Please tell me things are better. Did we have a launch party for this book? Do bookstores still exist? God, I hope so. If we arent living as mutant sewer people, Ill be satisfied. The bar was reset in 2020 and my standards are no longer as high as they once were. Also, I might be making jokes as a coping mechanism because the pandemic is still very much a big deal, and I genuinely dont know what the next six months or year holds. Hopefully not a zombie apocalypse. Whatever it is, it cant be harder for moms than parenting through the pandemic. Thanks for reading along.