The Heart of a Mother

by Julie Clark

There were women like me everywhere. The silent ones who’d tried and tried and tried and then quietly gave up.

All my life, I’d made it a point to respect the boundaries of others. But now I could see how easy it was to move that line.

“When a mother gives up a child, it fundamentally changes her, on a cellular level,” I said, carefully choosing my words.

From the moment I was born, the things that happened to me were out of my control. The one thing I had was control over whether I wanted to know you or not. But you stole that from me.”

I felt like a real mother for the first time in my life, making decisions that were in the best interests of my child. I was in control.

And when you make that deepest desire part of your public persona and share it with the world, it shouldn’t surprise you when someone comes along and tries to give it to you.