Amani Haydar on The Mother Wound: KYD First Book Club

The Kill Your Darlings Podcast

Editor’s Note: This conversation includes discussion of family violence.

‘We’ve got an ongoing conversation happening about violence against women in Australia, and I felt that it was important to contribute what I had learnt from my perspective as a Muslim woman, as an Arab woman, as a daughter of someone who was murdered, and as someone who had a legal background, to that conversation.’

Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For July that debut is The Mother Wound by Amani Haydar, out now from Pan Macmillan.

Amani suffered the unimaginable when she lost her mother in a brutal act of domestic violence perpetrated by her father. Five months pregnant at the time, her own perception of how she wanted to mother (and how she had been mothered) was shaped by this devastating murder.

Writing with grace and beauty, Amani has drawn from this a story of female resilience and the role of motherhood in the home and in the world. In The Mother Wound, she uses her own strength to help other survivors find their voices.

First Book Club host Ellen Cregan spoke with Amani about the book and the experience of writing it.

Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Lloyd Pratt.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) offers confidential information, counselling and support services and is open 24 hours to support people impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence and abuse.

Further reading:

Read Ellen Cregan’s review of The Mother Wound in our July Books Roundup.

Read about Amani’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection.

The Mother Wound is available now from your local independent bookseller.

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