"I think I'm MIA," mothers will declare as they battle the negative self-talk, symptoms, and conflicting feelings that are often associated with losing their sense of self. In the insightful and thought-provoking self-help guide Missing In Action: How Mothers Lose, Grieve, and Retrieve Their Sense of Self, author Anne M. Smollon offers a unique perspective on change, loss, and grief in the lives of women consumed by motherhood.
By casting a new spin on an old acronym, Smollon introduces Maternal Intrapersonal Anxiety (MIA). MIA depicts the unrecognized and unacknowledged grief that accompanies the feelings of loss many women experience as they transition into motherhood and encounter undesirable changes associated with their physical appearance, lifestyle, mood, income, relationships, personal goals, and self-esteem. These losses frequently combine with the physical and mental drain of motherhood to create a far greater loss-a mother's sense of self.
Missing In Action details the various kinds of change and loss that occur, illuminates the compelling similarities between grief and the myriad symptoms mothers describe, explains how MIA relates to the violation of personal boundaries, and ultimately defines ten goals to help mothers reclaim their sense of self.