A few weeks ago we asked you to share your stories of motherhood for our Voices of Motherhood writing contest.
We knew we'd receive stories filled with humour and heart, and you delivered! We read so many amazing entries from all over Canada, from moms of all walks of life. Our judges had a hard task narrowing it down to 10 winners, but after much deliberation and calculation, the feat was accomplished!
The fact that we're announcing the winners of YMC's Voices of Motherhood writing contest on Mother's Day is no coincidence. Just as there is no one cookie-cutter motherhood experience, there is no one way to share or celebrate your story. Motherhood can be at once scary, profound, tiring, hilarious, and heart-breaking. Every mom is different, and every mom's story is different; but a common thread binds us all - the love we have for our children.
It was this premise, this complexity of motherhood, which initially inspired our Voices of Motherhood Writing Contest three years ago. Having an opportunity to put pen to paper to help process the changes children bring to our lives can be incredibly cathartic. Every year the winning stories grab our judges' hearts and funny bones with their powerful writing. They truly capture the depth of emotions moms deal with, and this year's entries were no exception.
This year, tasked with composing a story connected to the theme of Stages of Motherhood: Past, Present or Future, over 100 women took on the challenge, head on.
Our five diligent judges - myself included - laughed and (mostly) cried through all the entries, scoring each story on Title, Grammar, Creativity and Unique Voice. It was a process that took hours. How do you judge passion? How do you grade someone's unique experience or voice? In the end, we added our individual scores to arrive at the 10 official winners of the 2015 Voices of Motherhood Writing Contest.
The winners are:
Grand Prize Winner
Rosemary O'Neill Warrior Mother
Second Place Winners
Runners UpTo celebrate Mother's Day, please consider these stories our Mother's Day gift for you.
We hope you make time to download this free ebook (available here in .pdf, .mobi, and .epub formats for iBook and mobile readers), curl up in your favorite place to read, and enjoy the powerful prose written by moms for moms.
Happy Mother's Day!
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