Birthrites – Rituals and Celebrations for the Child-bearing Years

Published by Permanent Publications, December 2009, with illustrations by Imogen Oxley.

Birthrites took shape over ten years of thinking, reading, interviewing people and going through the rite of passage of becoming a mother myself.  The book includes practical advice for potential parents, but does not concentrate solely on pregnancy, birth and motherhood.  It includes chapters on Becoming a Father, Adoption and Miscarriage, among others.

“Jackie’s writing on our need for ceremony is eloquent, wise and clear. ” Sue Gill, author and celebrant

“Jackie encourages us to be couragous, inventive and experimental.  She inspires us to find ways to make these ceremonies inclusive and heartfelt, to trust our instincts and our community to support us and bear witness.”  Glennie Kindred, from the Foreword.

With Permanent Publications, Birthrites found a home in a stable of books on Permaculture.  I am thrilled to be working with a publisher so understanding of the subject matter and so devoted to ethical and sustainable practices.  In 2008 they won the Queens Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development. 

Birthrites is envisaged as the first in a series of books about creating rites of passage.  Others to follow will cover: coming of age, weddings, divorces, moving house, birthdays, menopause, retirement, funerals.