No Prayer More Powerful

It is said that there is no prayer more powerful than that of a mother for her child. But who prays for the mother? In her debut memoir, Kari Woolf writes a prayer for the mothers, but not only. Hers is a story of initiation, reclamation and intergenerational healing, all told against the backdrop of London in the early 2010s, and channeled through the lens of an American making a new life for herself with her English husband. A life built around long hours in corporate finance punctuated by weekends of European travel unravelled quickly in the aftermath of motherhood -- a joyous journey, but one that resulted in a shattering of self. This shattering became a dissolving once a second pregnancy yielded premature twins, one of whom was chronically unwell. Kari quickly discovered that all her previous strategies for navigating difficulty proved powerless in her new life, and as she began to allow motherhood to reshape her, she came face to face with the feminine side of herself and her story to date -- a story she didn't even know that she didn't know. Told through a mix of letters and vignettes, No Prayer More Powerful charts one woman's path through postnatal depression and anxiety, separation from family and homeland, reconciliation to marriage and exploration of various tools and practices she hoped would prove healing (many did not). It uplifts without overwhelming, shedding light on the stories we bury within the timelines of our own DNA. Perfect for fans of Clover Stroud and Patti Smith. * "Personal, riveting, and provocative. In this powerhouse debut, Kari Woolf turns her lively, arresting prose to exploring deep questions of motherhood, identity, and intergenerational healing. Her unflinching look at the changes wrought by motherhood offer mothers, daughters, and women everywhere a platform for reflection, compassion and healing. A must-read for every woman who has ever felt lost in a role that wasn't big enough to hold her. I was hooked from page one. I couldn't put it down!" -- Katherine Hall, founder Books of Eden Publishing