A History of Holding

<p><strong>A Bookshop.org Bookseller Poetry Pick for Women's History Month 2026</strong></p><p></p><p><strong style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>This is a book to savor cling to and gift to every mother you know. A stunning debut.</strong></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>-Ashlee Gadd author of </span><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Create Anyway</em></p><p></p><p><em>A History of Holding</em> is an intimate poetry collection exploring motherhood as both a physical and emotional transformation-where love expands 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. With poems grounded in everyday moments-from late-night Google searches to sun-drenched kitchens-Mei-Li offers a tender clear-eyed portrait of motherhood as it is lived.</p><p></p>