Dear Mother: Letters from the Heart

by Suma Din

This book empathizes with Muslim mothers nurturing their families within a faith framework. It canters her experience. Doubts and insecurities are gently replaced with understanding and support in the candid exchanges from one mother to another.
Dear Mother… brings together mothers of all ages and backgrounds in a compendium of fictional letters, written from the heart. Great challenges and responsibilities, hopes and disappointments are explored without apology. As one mother prepares for a new-born, another shares her experience of being a single parent. Why is a mother at the primary school gate feeling burnt out by 9 am and what advice does a grandmother pass down to her granddaughter? Whether she’s sitting in the ante-natal clinic, on a bus or in the masjid, these letters reveal a variety of mothers’ inner dialogue – one which is rarely heard in society.

193 pages, Hardcover

Published August 29, 2023

Reviews

[AB · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully moving book, inside and out. Not solely for mothers, but an imperative read for all ages, at all stages. Suma Din casts a necessary light on the pillars of our society, mothers and their work is finally being brought into the discussion and the writer doesn't shy away from portraying honest realities.

[Nazli Hussain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written, warm and 'real' read. In this fictional collection of letters, Suma, has taken me into the heads, souls and lives of so many women - a privilege. Several letters resonated with me while others gave me a first insight into different Mum-worlds. I read too fast and wanted to savour each letter and learn too. I loved hearing the voices with their honesty, compassion, poetry, Islamic and cultural contexts - plus the humour too. This book is a treasure trove which I will dip into again and again. Suma's book is thought provoking, has clarity and is well researched. A refreshing, useful read (and discussion) for women of all ages and stages.

[Sarah Muzaffar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving read, both as a mother and a daughter. We realize how much our parents had to go through, especially our mothers, only after we are mothers ourselves. This book is like a balsam on the emotional bruises that all mothers at one point or the other in their motherhood journey acquire.