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The cover story that issue was called "The Sacred Mess." It was about how the pressure to be a perfect mother is a form of patriarchal control. Martha read it while sipping her morning coffee. She snorted at the Lego comic. She cried at the essay about post-partum rage. She had felt that rage forty years ago, alone, with no name for it.
She used the $200 to print 500 more copies. She wrote a new column called "Ask Your Mutha," where she answered questions with brutal honesty. ("Dear Mutha: My child only eats beige food. Is she dying?" Answer: "No. She is thriving on a diet of air, spite, and chicken nuggets. You are doing fine.") mutha magazine alison mutha magazine
A bulk shipment meant for a feminist bookstore in Seattle was accidentally delivered to "Martha's Bible & Hymn Society" in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Martha, a 74-year-old widow with blue-rinsed hair, opened the box expecting a new shipment of inspirational pamphlets. Instead, she found twenty copies of Alison’s magazine. The cover story that issue was called "The Sacred Mess
To pull an Alison Mutha meant to tell the ugly, beautiful, Lego-covered, lipstick-smeared truth about your life, and to hand it to a stranger with no apology. She cried at the essay about post-partum rage
