An anthology of memoirs. 39 Vancouver actresses write the story of their mothers lives just the facts, ma am - from beginning to end. These mothers come from around the world, with birthdates ranging from 1890 to 1954. Gathered together, these stories are a record of 20th century women's history, sketches of how women really lived. Written with disarming candour, these first hand accounts reveal the microhistory of women living through wars, poverty, prosperity, mental illness, addiction, artistic achievement, adoption, arranged marriage, infidelity, and the everyday trials and joys of women everywhere. Mothership Stories Society, a not for profit publisher, was founded in 2008 with the mandate to encourage the writing, collecting, and performing of stories written by daughters and sons about their mothers. This is the first book of the My Mother's Story series, part of a campaign that asks people around the world to record and share the story of their mothers' lives. The stories collected for the project have inspired and/or fuelled the development of an online archive, writing workshops, books, radio and film documentaries, a form of theatre and - our hope - an entire social movement. www.mymothersstory.org telling women's history one mother at a time.

How have 20th century women really lived? My Mother's Story asks people to write the story of their mothers' lives from beginning to end, without embellishment, telling "just the facts ma'am." The 41 stories collected here were submitted for inclusion in a professional theatre production in Vancouver, Canada. Against the backdrop of headline news, they tell stories of wealth, poverty, abuse, adoption, arranged marriages, heartache and joy in countries all over the world, their common thread being a daughter who now lives in North Vancouver. Second in a series on the extraordinary lives of ordinary women. www.mymothersstory.org.