"The Long Devotion is a collection of poems, essays, and writing prompts that celebrate the joy and wonder of motherhood and create a space for mothers to, as poet Molly Spencer has written, "tell an unlovely truth about family life and not have to take it back." The book carries forward the essential work of previous motherhood anthologies by speaking to our current moment through the work of many of the most exciting mid-career poets and by diversifying the voices and range of experiences presented. Motherhood is very much in the zeitgeist, making the timing ideal for an anthology with this scope. This volume contributes to vital current conversations about motherhood and engages in this important political work of promoting women's voices as they speak about the joyful and challenging parts of their lives. While many previous motherhood anthologies have focused on the experiences of married, straight, white, middle-class women, the contributors in this collection are diverse in terms of racial background, gender, sexual identity, and experiences of motherhood. The work in this book encompasses step-parenting; infertility; intersections of parenting and race; adoption and foster parenting; ambivalence about motherhood; parenting while struggling with chronic illness, mental illness, and disability; and parenting children who live with illness and disability. This rich range of perspectives is essential for understanding and portraying our moment and will encourage many women who have not previously seen their lives reflected in motherhood anthologies to engage with the book. In addition to poems, the book includes essays that engage writing and motherhood across a range of contexts, presenting multiple and complex answers to questions that mother-writers are always asking each other: How do you do it? How do you mother and write?"--