A mother of three daughters who was born, bred and educated in Weardale has described her journey into becoming an author to her followers.
Ruth Sabrosa, nee Atkinson, left Weardale in 1999 to accomplish her dream career of working in Films and Television. She worked around the world on blockbusting films and TV series, including Star Wars, James Bond and on the last episode of Vera.
After giving birth to her first baby in 2010, she realised that no matter how exciting her career was, motherhood was more important and she re-trained as a Natal Hypnotherapist. Since then, her journey into supporting womenhood and bringing back the forgotten history of the female has been her quest.
Here, in her own words, she explains why:
‘Nature is blossoming and I want to tell you about what motivated me to write a book about a girl’s first period.
I have been working with pregnant women for nearly fifteen years and there’s a common thread – women don’t routinely trust their bodies. They need to learn this or unlearn what society has taught them! I still help them to do this with Hypnobirthing but a few years back I couldn’t help wondering how it would be if they’d grown up with this trust. I wanted this for my own daughters and for every girl on the planet.
The idea to write a book came to me in 2021 after training with ‘Celebration Day for Girls’ to run period preparation workshops for young girls and their mothers. I learned how to create a beautiful space for girls to learn about their bodies in a magical way with crafts and celebration and expected that everyone would want to join me in preparing their daughter for this magical transition, but I was surprised that each time I set the date for a workshop, there would be very little interest. I went ahead anyway because each girl equipped with this knowledge is a girl ready to meet her power and take on the world. My own daughters attended several times, and it was after a particularly long day when we were clearing up that one of them suggested we turn it into a box of activities so that mothers and daughters could learn this themselves at home. We went ahead and created magical menarche and moontime boxes and these are still available from my website shop, but they still weren’t reaching enough girls.
Sometime later we were looking for seaglass on the beach and the idea for the book was conceived: stories lost in mermaid tears – a book for children to teach them the magic of the menstrual cycle so they could grow up with this positive message! This was the seed of my idea, and that seed sprouted when I heard Jane Hardwicke Collings speak on the Midwives Cauldron podcast about female rites of passage. I learned that there are only five species that go through menopause and one of these is the narwhal, when she reaches menopause, she doesn’t fade away, she becomes the leader of her pack! She then teaches her children and grandchildren how to thrive and live on. This happens because it is her responsibility as leader to share her wisdom. I realised that this is what is missing from our culture – we lock our old people away in homes and with that all their wisdom. What If we could learn from our elders again? What if instead of reaching for google or AI we could ask our Grandma? Children needed to receive this message again, if not from the adults in their lives, then from a book aimed at young children. And these same adults need to learn cycle wisdom in order to pass it on! The book helps both generations.
I was inspired by the natural world around me to create the character of Mother Nature Narwhal, a grandmother figure, who comes from the sea to find the lost story of menarche and share it with three sisters playing on the beach. The story weaves together myth and magic and I needed support to bring it to life much like when I was pregnant and gathering my support team. The foundations were laid, the story was there, I knew what I wanted and then I met Bethany – an Artist from Seaham – who would help me bring the story to life with her beautiful illustrations. Similarly when I was pregnant with my second daughter, I knew I wanted a support team so I hired doulas Caron Smith and Maisie Hill (who later inspired me to learn about period power in the first place!) When I discovered my daughter was breech, I then found Maya Midwives to support me. Their care and attention helped me to have the most beautiful births – something I wish for every woman on this earth. That’s why I wrote this book so the women of the future can grow up trusting their bodies so that when they arrive at the next threshold of birth, they will know their power. Peace on Earth begins at birth and when women are supported to birth their way, the world will change but it starts with young girls. So, I was overjoyed when Bethany presented her illustrations to me – they really brought my writing to life much like my doulas and midwives supported me to birth my babies my way.
We then needed to find a way to publish our work, and we chose to go with local printers, Lintons, who have been around for 150 years and who published my mother’s books. Much like deciding on the place to give birth, you can stay home with your familiar surroundings, or you can go to hospital into an unfamiliar environment with people you don’t know. It’s important to know your options and not settle for less. I had to assert my wishes just as I did in my last pregnancies. It took some time to get it right, but it isn’t a process to be rushed just like birth! The gestation period for birthing my book was much longer than a pregnancy – nearly five years from initial idea to the birth and towards the end, once I was happy with everything I surrendered to the process. I woke up on 10th April to receive the most beautiful endorsement from Jane Hardwicke Collings saying, ‘this book will change the future’ and two hours later as if by magic, a message from the printer announcing the birth of the book! Magical Menarche was born. Just like my last birth, I called my midwife Andy and two hours later, my daughter was born into my arms in the pool.
Bethany and I thought about scheduling the announcement but received a strong message that time was of the essence and the world is ready for this medicine now. We will celebrate the birth of the book on 1st May 6-8pm at Mindful Me Wellbeing Hub on Seaham Marina, where Bethany and I first met and you can enjoy mermaid cupcakes, womb biscuits and ‘over the moon tea’ whilst perusing her artwork and having your book signed.’
To purchase a book, priced at £8.88p, go to www.ruthsabrosa.com
