REVIEWS

UNMAKING MARY

Written by: Chine McDonald Published by: Hodder & Stoughton Price: £18.99

In this groundbreaking work, the author seeks to shatter the myth of ‘perfect motherhood’ perpetuated for two thousand years through art, culture and society.

In a searingly honest work, McDonald, director of Theos, the religion and society think tank, trustee of Christian Aid and canon theologian at Chester Cathedral, blends personal experience (she is the mother of two young boys) with theology and social commentary to skilfully show that the ideal of ‘perfect motherhood’ simply does not exist.

The work will resonate with many women who have found the journey to motherhood difficult, but also did not fulfil the expectations they had, perpetuated by the myth.

In an introduction, she writes: ‘Motherhood has given me the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. My hope is that in sharing the realities of the shadow side of motherhood, this book might enable women everywhere to exhales, but also realise that in these shadows we can gain new and profound understanding.’

Whilst firmly acknowledging motherhood is a gift, she hopes the book is an attempt to ‘break free from the false and restrictive motherhood ideals that choke and shame and oppress and torment. It’s time to tell the truth; to unmake this cloak of perfect that surrounds Mary and shames the rest of us.’

McDonald considers the many pressures placed on 21st century society and also demonstrates how the media and social media amplify these unrealistic expectations.

She also considers how and why the world doesn’t prepare women better for the reality of the journey to motherhood, exploring the hidden side of the parental path – including ‘taboo’ subjects of child death and miscarriage and touching on infertility and post-natal depression.

In an introduction, Beth Allison Barr, Professor of History at Baylor University neatly sums up the premise of the book: ‘In prose as vivid and beautiful and starling as the Shrine Madonna, Chine McDonald asks us to take another look at the Mother of God. Instead of as a paragon, McDonald invites us to see her as an ordinary woman whose broken brown body, covered in stretch marks, bleeding and leaking and tired, is anything but perfect. To help us see Mary from this different perspective, McDonald traces the rich complexity of Marian history, from medieval through to Modern, bringing the Mother of God down from an unreachable pedestal.’

The book will be of interest to those with an interest in both theology and social and cultural commentary.

MISSION EUROPE

The Secret History of the Women of SOE

Written by: Kate Vigurs Published by: Yale University Press Price: £20

Published days after the 80th anniversary of VE Day, marking the beginning of the end of the Second World War, this hardback traces the history and role of women who played sometimes unsung crucial roles with the SOE (Special Operations Executive) across Europe.

From 1943 some recruits were trained on arduous courses in Scotland in Arisaig and Morar to receive bespoke intelligence training, including demolition and explosives training with practice in rail sabotage carried out on the West Highland Line with the cooperation of the rail operators. The author notes: ‘While practising, some trainee agents inadvertently blew up a bridge at Loch Morar , as well as the pier at Swordland.’

The training in Scotland, was just one part of the preparation for the life of wartime undercover operations which involved meticulous preparation in other parts of the UK before being sent on active service.

The wartime executive recruited women as both agents and saboteurs to bolster resistance across the continent, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Denmark.

The book acknowledges that the work of women principally working in France is perhaps better known, but this is an attempt to shine the light on some of the lesser-known activities of women and the critical role they came to play in the conflict.

Interestingly the historian author notes that major impediments remain to fully understanding and retelling and celebrating the stories of these women. Around 87 per cent of the documents held in the UK were destroyed by fire in 1946 (regarded with suspicion both at the time and through the modern lens of today) and a number of records remain bound by the Official Secrets Act, meaning the full scale of the work of these women may never be fully realised.

In a final paragraph, the author notes: ‘Mission Europe has drawn these backstage stories out of obscurity and pushed them into the limelight by celebrating the work of many SOE women in occupied Europe. Stories of human trial and error, capture, escape and execution have filled these pages. This tome has revealed and celebrated the lesser-known women of SOE and reiterated that they were ordinary women doing extraordinary things.’

The book is organised by country and attempts to show the sphere of influence – and profound courage of the women trained to infiltrate and serves as a timely reminder of the price of the precious freedom and democracy that we all enjoy today.

Lynne McNeil

Visit us online and enjoy enhanced and up-to-date experience of the editorially independent magazine of the Church of Scotland with news, views and features. www.lifeandwork.org