Giveaway: Poetry of a Hobo Mama Parenting Poetry — $12 ARV — 2 WINNERS! {5.14; Worldwide}

This is a joint giveaway with Anktangle and Natural Parents Network. Please enter at one site only. Find the section marked "Win it!" for the mandatory entry and optional bonus entries.

Lauren of Hobo Mama is offering a giveaway of TWO copies of her parenting poetry book, Poetry of a Hobo Mama: The First Three Years. Each retails for $11.99, giving this giveaway a combined value of nearly $24.

Poetry of a Hobo Mama is a collection of poems by Lauren Wayne, inspired by the initial three years of parenting her firstborn son, Mikko.

About the book

I sling my baby like a bindle on my back,

tramping along the tracks

countless feet have worn before.

Poetry of a Hobo Mama contains three years' worth of parenting poetry, written from the time Lauren and her husband, Sam, were preparing for Mikko, through watching him grow to three years old. She has included poems that speak of their natural parenting journey — breastfeeding, the family bed, elimination communication, and natural birth among them.

The book is a combination of free verse and more traditional poetry forms, and the topics and tone run through all the variations the poet felt when writing them: the grief of miscarriage, the anticipation of trying to conceive, the upheaval of the newborn months, the joy of parenting, and the balance of motherhood and personal passion.

Until you move away


Pillow hog and space eater,

chubby legs kicking my thighs.

Starfish hands pushing my chest

and unh unh unh in the darkness

until I roll over and let you feed.

Dream interrupter, devourer of sleep,

you take while I wait

until you move away.



Lap hog and attention seeker,

sturdy body invading my space.

Starfish hand pulling my chin

to meet your gray-green eyes,

your chatter about octopi.

Poem interrupter, devourer of time,

you talk while I wait

until you move away.



Imagining a night with full sleep,

imagining a day with concentration,

uninterrupted, unrelenting,

unleavened.

Dreading the day

you move away.

My review

I cannot say enough about this book! Written by my dear friend Lauren, it chronicles three years on her path of motherhood. The collection includes poems about miscarriage, conception, pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, cosleeping, babywearing, and all the monotony and hilarity that comes with becoming a parent.

I've been a fan of Lauren's writing since well before I knew her personally, because her writing is just so incredibly easy to relate to. There's no pretending and no putting on airs or avoiding the touchy and controversial subjects, only the reality of her life as a wife, mother, and woman. She reveals her true self through her words: the humor and wit, the wisdom and growth, even the taboo and painful parts. 

Lauren's poetry (in particular) touches me deeply. I envy her ability to express such universal and personal feelings about parenthood and mothering with such beauty and fluidity. Her poetry reminds me of where I've been and gives me insights into where I've yet to go on my mothering journey. Reading her poems even inspires me to write more.

This is a beautiful, funny, truth-filled collection that I believe would resonate with any mother. The focus on Lauren's experiences as an attachment-focused parent gives it a unique perspective which any parent on the natural parenting spectrum could appreciate. But it's not just for the "crunchy" mama in your life; it's truly about the human experience: about life and love, about laughter and loss. It's about the joyfully heart-wrenching reality of loving someone as deeply and fully as a parent loves her child.

I'll leave you with this:

Separation Anxiety


Clinging like a monkey

and your wails following me like guilt

to the coffeeshop down the street,

where I write my novel

and count the minutes

till I pick you up again.


Will you become the child

who lets go of her mother's hand

without a backward glance

and runs to greet her friends?


And am I ready for you to?

About the author

Lauren Wayne lives and writes in the Pacific Northwestern USA, with her husband, Sam, and their two sweet boys: four-year-old Mikko (almost five, he would tell you!) and ten-month-old baby Alrik (who persistently makes the concerned face you see in the picture at right). She has been writing and publishing poetry for twenty-five years, but parenting has added even more inspiration. Poetry allows her to be honest about her emotional journey and to show an image, pin down a feeling, in a way that other writing does not.

Lauren blogs at Hobo Mama about natural and attachment parenting, and gives a behind-the-scenes look at writing at LaurenWayne.com. She co-hosts the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting and is a cofounder of Natural Parents Network, a site that brings together attachment parents interested in a natural lifestyle.

Lauren and Mikko grace the book's cover — that's Lauren and Mikko breastfeeding in public on a Seattle beach when Mikko was just a few months old.

BUY IT!

You can purchase your own copy of Poetry of a Hobo Mama at Amazon and CreateSpace. It's available internationally and on Kindle through Amazon. The list price is $11.99 for the paperback and $9.99 for the ebook.

Just for our readers, Lauren is offering a 20% discount on all book orders through CreateSpace only. (Amazon unfortunately won't allow coupon codes.) Enter code SAP84AYJ during the ordering process.

WIN IT!

For your own chance to win one of two copies of Poetry of a Hobo Mama, enter by leaving a comment and using the Rafflecopter system below.

Contest is open WORLDWIDE.

MANDATORY ENTRY: Leave a comment telling us: What is your favorite poet or poem?

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BONUS ENTRIES:

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Contest closes May 14 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.