{"id":267508,"date":"2025-11-07T09:56:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T09:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/267508\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T09:56:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T09:56:14","slug":"revelstoke-mom-among-b-c-authors-reflecting-on-postpartum-depression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/267508\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelstoke mom among B.C. authors reflecting on postpartum depression"},"content":{"rendered":"

Six years after first putting her postpartum struggle into words, Revelstoke\u2019s Hilary Thorpe hopes her essay in a new book helps normalize the emotional lows many women face during and after pregnancy.<\/p>\n

Beyond Blue, published by feminist-focused Caitlin Press from Vancouver Island\u2019s Qualicum Beach, seeks to build a community of healing and hope for mothers across B.C. and elsewhere coping with postpartum mental-health challenges.<\/p>\n

In the anthology, released in October, Thorpe and the 25 other authors share their unique and raw experiences with postpartum depression, a mood disorder that often goes undiagnosed due to embarrassment and stigma.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving been in the low I was in, it does help you to connect with people who are also in low places,\u201d said Thorpe, who\u2019s now 45. \u201cAnyone who\u2019s gone through any kind of mental illness would find something to connect with in this book.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the pages, she and other essayists recount struggling in their postpartum period with decision-making, battling paranoia and harmful thoughts, and questioning their very competence as parents. They also experience rage and detachment from their babies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe exact words \u2018silent pleading\u2019 are in this collection at least three times, which is really crazy to me,\u201d Thorpe noted.<\/p>\n

In her case, she recounted thinking to herself, \u2018this big thing has happened to me, but I\u2019m not allowed to talk about it.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Back in 2014, the Public Health Agency of Canada reported from its Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey that 7.5 per cent of women have depressive symptoms in their postpartum period.<\/p>\n

Postpartum depression affects eight to 12 per cent of mothers, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association\u2019s British Columbia chapter, and contrary to the term \u201cpostpartum,\u201d 10 to 16 per cent of women impacted by the disorder actually start experiencing symptoms earlier while pregnant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf left untreated, this depression can last for months or even years after the baby is born,\u201d the association writes. \u201cIt\u2019s true that it\u2019s normal for many new mothers to feel a bit down after childbirth, but if these \u2018baby blues\u2019 last more than two weeks and affect your ability to take care of yourself and your baby, you may have postpartum depression.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thorpe\u2019s chapter, titled Committed, begins the night she was hospitalized involuntarily and traces the path that led her there \u2014 isolation, pregnancy loss, and unprocessed grief and exhaustion \u2014 and how, through her recovery, she learned to take more time for herself and be honest and vulnerable with others when needing help.<\/p>\n

When her child Hazel was still a baby, poems about their mother\u2019s postpartum experience \u201csort of spilled out of me in a way that was surprising,\u201d reflected Thorpe, who\u2019s now working on a memoir about her postpartum experiences.<\/p>\n

She described her writing process as \u201cthe less rational part of me getting more of a say,\u201d giving her an opportunity to rethink her priorities in life. Before Thorpe\u2019s postpartum crisis, putting time aside for her own well-being had been a challenge. During her postdoc at the University of British Columbia, Thorpe went back to work a few days after losing her first pregnancy, and she even worked during her early labour with Hazel.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe felt really honoured to have her share her story with us,\u201d said Oga Nwobosi, who edited Beyond Blue alongside friend Christina Myers. \u201cIt was the worst time in (Thorpe\u2019s) life. Hers was probably one of the rawest experiences in the book. The amazing thing is, she\u2019s bounced back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nwobosi and Myers first got acquainted 18 years ago, through the Pacific Post Partum Support Society\u2019s group meetings that they attended for years, and forged strong connections with other participants during.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you do talk about it, you realize you\u2019re not alone,\u201d Nwobosi said. \u201cThere was some of us who stayed longer than we needed to, just because it was a beautiful support system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly two decades later, they\u2019ve published their book with contributions by some of the same women they first met in that room.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese women wanted to share (their experiences) in order to help other women,\u201d Nwobosi continued, adding it chronicles the \u201cfull spectrum of emotions\u201d mothers may experience during postpartum depression.<\/p>\n

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At the book\u2019s Oct. 18 launch in Vancouver at the Canadian Memorial Centre for Peace, where Thorpe read from her chapter, Hazel, now in Grade 10 at Revelstoke Secondary School, sat listening in the audience.<\/p>\n

While some of the contributors Thorpe met that night hadn\u2019t yet told their children about their postpartum struggles, \u201cHazel has known this story their whole life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Nwobosi said her and Myers\u2019 latest reading at Port Coquitlam\u2019s Western Sky Books received a very supportive crowd, and they hope to take Beyond Blue on the road across Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis book is that shoutout to other mothers,\u201d Nwobosi said, adding it\u2019s also meant for a much wider audience \u2014 partners, siblings, friends and everyone else. \u201cIt\u2019s not a light read, this book, but it\u2019s an important read.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going forward, Thorpe said it\u2019s important women have the space to talk about their postpartum shame and suffering. For her, speaking out changed everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cI emerged from this crisis a different person, and I like this version of myself so much better,\u201d she writes in her essay. \u201cThis me is calmer and happier and present. In this way, losing my mind is the best thing that\u2019s ever happened to me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Six years after first putting her postpartum struggle into words, Revelstoke\u2019s Hilary Thorpe hopes her essay in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267509,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[12890,353,49,48,84,31385,393,394],"class_list":{"0":"post-267508","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-author","9":"tag-books","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-health-and-wellness","14":"tag-mental-health","15":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}