My First Book
Interview with debut author Rachel Deutsch
Rachel Deutsch’s writing, cartoons and illustrations have appeared in publications including The New Yorker, PRISM, The Pinch, McSweeney’s, Mother Tongue, Mutha Magazine and in ParentData, the popular newsletter by Emily Oster, the author of Expecting Better. Deutsch is known for bringing honesty and humour to tough parenting moments. She lives in Montreal with her partner and two young kids, and posts regularly on Instagram as @weirdmomart.
My First Book: The Mother
A raw and honest, harrowing and humorous journey into the dualities of modern motherhood in graphic memoir form.
Paperback: 172 pages
Publisher: Douglas and McIntyre
Date Published: March 25, 2025
Subjects: Comics & Graphic Novels / Literary / Family & Relationships
“(S)he captures both the absurdity and the wonder of parenthood.” — HuffPost
How did you become a writer and cartoonist?
I always loved writing and drawing. For a long time, I didn’t share my art. It was not until after I had my first kid that I started sharing publicly and submitting to literary journals. I found the process of becoming a mother extremely creatively inspiring. I had just created life, so now I wanted to keep going!
What’s your elevator pitch for this book?
The Mother is the story of the major transformation of becoming a mother. It’s about the wildness, weirdness, grief and love embedded in pregnancy and early motherhood.
This is your first book - why did you need to tell this story?
Becoming a mother is something so personal, but it’s also such a universal story at the same time. At first, I questioned whether becoming a mother was actually a story in its own right. Luckily, those around me and other artist mothers helped me answer that question. Yes! Matrescence is a significant life change that is dramatic, shocking, funny, and weird. In other words, it’s a story.
What was your journey from idea to publication?
I started sharing cartoons on my Instagram @weirdmomart, and as my audience grew, I realized I really wanted to make a book. Around this time, I had a few pieces published in The New Yorker, which was a huge confidence booster! When I finally sat down and started making it, my creativity just poured out of me. My publisher, Douglas & McIntyre, has also been extremely supportive through this process.
What was your playlist when writing this book (either literally or thematically?)
Nina Simone, Starmania, Gillian Welch, Amy Winehouse, Martha Wainwright, Giora Feidman, Mercedes Sosa, Doechii.
What do you hope readers will take away after reading THE MOTHER?
More than anything, I hope that THE MOTHER shows that the contradictions of motherhood—the joy and grief, connection and loneliness—are part of something bigger, something we can share. I hope to help open a storytelling space for mothers where we can be honest and open about the constant push and pull of this massive life transformation.
What do you know now that your first book has been published that you wish you knew when you first had the inspiration to write it?
I wish I understood a bit more about the publishing business. When making graphic novels or memoirs, artists usually make a part of their book and then pitch it around. I had most of the manuscript done when I pitched it to publishers, which is risky in case it never sold. Thankfully, it all ended up working out.
What’s next for you?
I have two other graphic novels and a couple of children’s books in the works. One is a horror/thriller book about a woman who is stuck repeating lives until she uncovers a horrifying secret that changes everything. The other is a second graphic memoir about an earlier part of my life. I’m also writing and illustrating two potential books for young children.
The Mother by Rachel Deutsch
New Yorker cartoonist Rachel Deutsch desperately wanted a baby, yet she was fearful of actually being pregnant and having one. She lurched into a new identity and then missed her old one. She loved her new baby fiercely, but yearned for her previous relationship with her partner, as sleepless nights revealed the cracks below the surface of their relationship.
Funny, provocative, visually striking and unabashedly candid, The Mother offers empathy and laughs to new and seasoned parents, encouraging readers to embrace the unexpected depths of feeling, wildness, weirdness and love that come with the territory.