Source: Radio New Zealand
A book of poems about motherhood has been dog-eared and shared by Meghan Markle on her social media.
They Bloom Because of You was published two weeks ago by Christchurch-based mother of three, Jessica Urlichs.
“I was just completely stunned, I didn’t believe that it would be real,” Urlichs told RNZ.
“I was just incredibly grateful that she would share something like that on her platform. I think it was a really big moment of women supporting women as well.”
On Tuesday, the Duchess of Sussex posted a video to her Instagram stories to 4.5 million followers showing her sitting in a garden appearing to flip through the book, saying “so good”.
A number of pages had been turned down, including poems titled The Mental Load, Hands We Hold Close, More Than a Body, Unraveled, Texts Between Friends and A Mother’s Love.
Urlichs learned of the post when a number of followers shared it with her. At first she thought it was a fan account.
When Urlichs posted her “shock” at the “huge moment” Markle replied with the message: “My mom friend, Christina, shared it with me. My current bedside book”.
Overseas interest in the book has spiked since Markle, who lives in California with husband Prince Harry and their two children, posted about it.
Urlichs’ first book of poetry, Beautiful Chaos, became a Sunday Times bestseller. Her work, inspired by her own postpartum experience, has been previously mentioned by Blake Lively and endorsed by Hilary Duff and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
Urlichs said her latest book focused on “the seasons of growth and blooming alongside our children”.
“There are a lot of poems in there for babies and older kids, but a lot of it speaks to the seasons after and finding ourselves as well.
“I’m not really sure what she took from them but I know that a lot of them would speak to a mother – that two things can be true – that we can feel elated and overjoyed in motherhood, but still find some seasons really difficult.
“I guess she would appreciate the vulnerability in those poems.”
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
