Raising Mothers | Sherisa de Groot | Substack

Introducing our 2026 Open Submission Call — send us your stories, essays and interviews!

Our portal is officially open! Send in your best work.

Nov 11, 2025 • Sherisa de Groot, Dara Mathis, K E Garland, and Raising Mothers

Recent posts

2026, Good Things Only

A quick (re)introduction, a few reminders and a super quick survey!

Jan 13 • Sherisa de Groot and Raising Mothers

50:21

Mama's Writing Live with Dr. IMANI PERRY

"I'm not just a hard worker, but a person who both believes in the imagination and believes in justice and being in right relation with them."

Nov 18, 2025 • Sherisa de Groot and IMANI PERRY

What's changing at Raising Mothers now that we're 10?

Quite a bit! A few announcements ahead of our general call for submissions! PLUS a very special call for essays

Sep 30, 2025 • Sherisa de Groot, Raising Mothers, Dara Mathis, and K E Garland

Fall '25 Workshops are LIVE

Four classes to choose from this October and November! 15-20 seats each. Register today!

Sep 20, 2025 • Sherisa de Groot

Radical Joy

Making A Joyful Noise: Elegy For Mom

"Empathy has become my superpower."

Dec 2, 2024 • Debra Powell-Wright

"At the Cub Scout banquets and the Freshman Orientations, I never imagined this marvel. Adult children can give what I call 'Stage 3' parents all sorts…

Nov 14, 2024 • M. Nzadi Keita

"I am still learning to extend the unlimited grace I have for my children to myself."

Oct 3, 2024 • Faithna

We Are Each Other

"Grandma Pearl taught me that if I want you to be free, I am required to do more than just acknowledge your existence."

Sep 16, 2024 • Ashley Pugh

Essay

For You, Whom I Don’t Remember

"A part of me wonders if you have some vantage point from which you have seen everything, and if that is the case, what you must think."

Mar 24, 2025 • Leena Sulahri

Throw Away the Half That Eats

"I missed the fantasy of retaining the last blood connections to my cultural heritage and identity."

Dec 19, 2024 • Maritess Zurbano

Notes From Mamas, Martyrs, and Jezebels: DW McKinney

"[R]etelling our stories is a practice in the precision required to better define our full selves."

Dec 3, 2024 • DW McKinney

Where Joy and Grief Hold Hands

"Grief, like an ocean, deep and wide, ebbs and flows. It is always present. But now we grieve with tears and deep belly laughs."

Nov 14, 2024 • Ain Heath Drew

"My mom often says she doesn’t remember the decade of her life when her four children were young."

Oct 18, 2024 • Miyo Tubridy

Shop Talk

Shop Talk with Cheryl Lee of 44th & 3rd Bookseller

"We have so many people that walk into the store and they say they're just blown away by our collection."

Sep 20, 2024 • Dara Mathis

Shop Talk with Lucy Yu of Yu & Me Books

"I always wanted to represent a wide range of literature that included Asian-American authors and writers while showcasing the large variety of the…

Apr 15, 2024 • Dara Mathis

Shop Talk with Ashley Valentine of Rooted MKE

“In every bookstore I’ve visited, Black books are in a section while White books are celebrated from wall to wall."

Mar 12, 2024 • Dara Mathis

Shop Talk with Tia Hamilton of Urban Reads Bookstore

“People think they can’t learn from felons. The smartest person and the hardest-working person you’re going to find comes from prison. People need to…

Feb 15, 2024 • Dara Mathis

Craft

Rewriting the Roots: How Acoustic Reading Unveils Memory

An essay on intimacy fears evolves into a revelation of maternal influence, showcasing revision's power to uncover hidden truths.

Oct 18, 2024 • Zainab Khadijah

So You Don't Love to Read

"[R]eading could be an act of the body, and it didn’t need to be all tied up in the mind."

Sep 26, 2024 • Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo

Ten Questions

Ten Questions with Ain Heath Drew

"I can’t remember ever not wanting to be a writer."

Dec 18, 2024 • Sherisa de Groot and Ain Heath Drew

Ten Questions with Annell Lopez

"I’m writing to document our current reality. I’m writing for all of our future selves."

Oct 30, 2024 • Sherisa de Groot and Annell Lopez

Ten Questions with Devi S. Laskar

"Read, read, and read. Read every day."

Aug 23, 2024 • Sherisa de Groot and Devi Laskar

Ten Questions with Renee Rutledge

"Write what you feel you want to write at the moment that you want to write it. Then put it away."

Jun 5, 2024 • Sherisa de Groot

Books on Books

Review | Adoption Unfiltered: Revelations from Adoptees, Birth Parents, Adoptive Parents and Allies

"By flattening the adoption experience and upholding principles of patriarchy, capitalism, racism, and classism, these tropes do real damage to everyone…

Dec 13, 2024 • Alice Stephens

Six Novels with Summer as a Backdrop

"Some classics, some classics to be – all of these are worth a spot in your beach bag as you battle the heat and take a much-needed vacation."

Jun 21, 2024 • Ain Heath Drew

What Should Expecting Black Mothers Read?

When I found out I was pregnant with my first child in 2014, I was given a copy of the popular how-to manual, What to Expect When You’re Expecting. I…

May 10, 2024

A Mirror of Memories | Phyllis Myung on Julia Lee’s memoir, ‘Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in a Black and White America’

“Most of the time, I found myself reading this book with a fist in air and furiously highlighting passages while crying bittersweet tears of healing.”

Apr 11, 2024 • Sherisa de Groot

Comics

"His favorite new toy is blocks! We think he's a GENIUS!"

Jan 11, 2024 • Malaka Gharib

Never Has This Momma Ever…CRIED SO HARD

Thank you for supporting us in big & small ways since 2015!

Nov 27, 2023 • Sherisa de Groot

Never Has This Momma Ever…TAKEN A BITE OUT OF MY CHILD’S COOKIE

A comic by Lisa Lim

Oct 30, 2023 • Sherisa de Groot

Never Has This Momma Ever…FALLEN ASLEEP DURING MOVIE NIGHT

[red_box] Thanks for reading! Childcare costs $20/hour in most cities.

Sep 30, 2023 • Sherisa de Groot

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