author and advocate
I write about female knowledge, the need for human compassion, and the pain and beauty of difficult transitions.
Through stories, women can discover their wisdom and develop healthier relationships with themselves and others.
My memoir CRAVING SPRING is available now from bookstores (like Malaprops) and Amazon
“It is a memoir that circles around the question of what it is to be a parent, whether we can ever do it right, whether the best we can do is keep showing up for it. It is, in the end, a hard-won journey toward radical acceptance…in its simplicity it is incredibly moving.”
—NICK FLYNN, award-winning author of Another Bullshit Night in Suck City
Craving Spring
A mother’s quest, a daughter’s depression, and the Greek myth that brought them together (Legacy Book Press)
Ann is convinced she is a good mother until the day her teenage daughter admits to an eating disorder and suicidal thoughts. In a desperate search to rescue her child from depression and addiction, Ann is plagued by a shadowy figure called Malvado, whose critical voice undermines her confidence.
Throughout her journey, Ann gathers wisdom from therapy, the 12 Steps, and Buddhist teachings, but she is surprised to find her greatest solace from an unlikely source: the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone. Connecting this ancient story to her experience as a traumatized mother, Ann is vindicated in her desire to save her child, but also learns the need for compromise, the challenge of letting go, and the secret to returning to herself.
A memoir about honesty, compassion, and trust, Craving Spring explores the pain and beauty of mother-daughter bonds and celebrates the universal desire for renewal.
“With crisp sentences and thriller-like pacing, Ann Batchelder has crafted an unforgettable book about a mother’s desperate quest to save her troubled daughter — and herself. Craving Spring is so deeply heartfelt that I felt it in my own heart, often pounding as I read — and yet I could not put it down.”
—Lynn Melnick, author of I've Had to Think Up a Way to Survive: On Trauma, Persistence, and Dolly Parton
Ann Batchelder
“I’m interested in the expectations placed on women. Every mother wants what’s best for her child, but motherhood can be confusing and lonely in a disconnected culture that shames women if they do too much or too little for their children.
Self-help books typically offer lists of dos and don’ts without addressing the pressure mothers feel to be perfect. As a result, mothers often feel judged, confused, and isolated because they are not encouraged to trust their inner voice. What women need is compassion, support, inspiration, understanding — and more compassion.
Stories, myths, memoirs, and legends can offer solace. By identifying with a character or hero, we feel their struggle and identify with their pain. We learn how they triumph over adversity and feel inspired and emboldened to trust ourselves to do the same. ”
