A History of Holding: Poems on Motherhood by Allison Mei-Li

A History of Holding: Poems on Motherhood

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A History of Holding: Poems on Motherhood by Allison Mei-Li
  • A History of Holding: Poems on Motherhood by Allison Mei-Li
A History of Holding: Poems on Motherhood

Third Moon Press

A History of Holding: Poems on Motherhood

$14.99
$14.99
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"This is a book to savor, cling to, and gift to every mother you know. A stunning debut."

-Ashlee Gadd, author of Create Anyway

A History of Holding is an intimate poetry collection exploring the emotional landscape of mothering. These poems trace a physical and emotional transformation that unfolds alongside exhaustion, grief, and awe.

Moving through pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood, Allison Mei-Li traces the tension between holding on and letting go-of time, identity, and a child who is always becoming someone new. Grounded in everyday moments, from late-night Google searches to sun-drenched kitchens, these poems offer a tender, clear-eyed portrait of motherhood as it is lived.
Book Details
Publisher:
Third Moon Press
ISBN:
9798993423302
Binding:
Paperback
Pages:
80
Authors:
Allison Mei-Li
Published Date:
2025-11-11
Language:
English
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C
Coley

Allison Mei-Li’s collection “A History of Holding” is a breathtaking debut. I could just randomly flip open a page and fall in love, but reading the book in full was amazing. The poems touch on everything from Mei-Li’s desire to become a mother and difficulties in getting pregnant, to the brutal reality of postpartum and the true beauty that is motherhood.

These poems are visceral, making space for mothers to feel seen and less alone, letting the reader relive all the moments she writes about. Feeling plucked out of my environment and inserted into the hug of the poems is new for me, but maybe it is an experience that is exclusively something a mother can feel.

In “If a mom said…” Mei-Li concludes the poem with the line, “Finally, enough silence to hear her own thoughts, to know, underneath it all, she’s still there,” which neatly sums up a mom’s desire to exist beyond function. Mei-Li also blends a bit of humor with her poems “The Fine Print” and “Texts I’ve almost sent my son…” so her collection will have you rolling through all the emotions. This collection delicately balances the sentiments of being a mother in this stunning must-read for any mom.

About Allison Mei-Li

A poet, mother, and speech-language pathologist based in Ventura County, California, Allison Mei-Li wrote her debut collection, A History of Holding, through the lens of motherhood, treating it as a meditation on time, love, and loss. She studied book design and typeset the interior of the collection herself. She founded Third Moon Press with the intention of publishing other poets, serves as a poetry reader at The Turning Leaf Journal, and hosts creative gatherings for women. Her work has appeared in Rust & Moth, MER Literary, Coffee + Crumbs, and Only Poems.

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