Craving Spring: A Mother’s Quest, a Daughter’s Depression, and the Greek Myth That Brought Them Together

by Ann Batchelder

ANN IS CONVINCED SHE IS A GOOD MOTHER until her teenage daughter admits to suicidal thoughts. In a desperate
attempt to rescue her child, she gathers wisdom from therapy, the 12 Steps, and Buddhist teachings, yet she finds her greatest solace from an unlikely the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone. Connecting this ancient story to her experience as a traumatized mother, Ann is vindicated in her desire to save her child but also learns the secret to returning to herself. A memoir about honesty, compassion, and trust, Craving Spring explores the pain and beauty of mother-daughter bonds and celebrates the universal desire for renewal.

“A masterful storyteller, Ann Batchelder takes us deep into the heart of a mother’s love while demonstrating the power of myth to illuminate a path toward healing. Craving Spring is a gift to anyone trying to navigate the complexities of the mother-daughter relationship.”
—Anita Johnston, Ph.D., psychologist and author of Eating in the Light of the Moon

“ Craving Spring is so deeply heartfelt that I felt it in my own heart, often pounding as I read—and yet I could not put it down.”
—Lynn Melnick, author of I’ve Had to Think Up a Way to
On Trauma, Persistence, and Dolly Parton

“Ann Batchelder has expressed something extraordinary with relevance and profound teachings… Craving Spring is a story of triumph. I highly recommend it.”
—Tommy Rosen, founder of Recovery 2.0

Genres: Memoir, Parenting, Addiction

180 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 3, 2023

Reviews

[Nana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne wanted a better relationship with her daughter, than the relationship her mother had with her. She believed she was a good mother, until her teenage daughter said she was having suicidal thoughts. Anne tries to rescue her daughter, to try and save her daughter she turns to the 12-step program, Buddhist teachings, and Greek Mythology, she learns she can't save her daughter, only her daughter can save herself. She also learns she has to face the things that had happened to her in her life.
The story, is about so much more than the relationship between mother and daughter, it is about learning things that help you realize what must happen in order for you both to want to live, a healthy life, and become who you are meant to become. At times, it is a difficult book to read, because I could see where I had done some of the same things with my daughter. They both find their path, and their journey continues on. You will have to read the book in order to find out where this part of their journey brings them to.
I received an ARC from Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles through NetGalley.

[Janet Hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad that this book is in the world for anyone who loves someone who is dealing with addiction--that it offers an opportunity to reconsider what feels imperative: trying to control, save, keep safe, or fix. This reconsideration provides real freedom and healing not just to oneself but for that person who is struggling with addiction. And of course, to have patience, faith--trust-- with the process.

The myth of Demeter and Persephone—as so often read and told—is about a mother’s grief over losing her daughter to the underworld and Hades. A grief so powerful and destructive it provokes the seasons of fall and winter, relenting into spring and summer when Persephone returns to her each year. It is so apt an analogy for the story of this mother—any mother—who fears the loss of their child for any reason. Ann Batchelder asks us all to reimagine how this myth might be told. This is a fiercely honest narrative, beautifully written, with brave offerings of transformation and hope.

[Carole Duff · Rating 5 out of 5]

When her daughter Olivia falls into depression and addiction, Ann Batchelder, like Demeter desperately trying to rescue Persephone from Hades’ grasp, begins a terrifying journey that exposes the myth of maternal perfectionism, control, and responsibility for children’s successes and failures. Batchelder’s inner judge "Malvado" smirks; fear and obsessive worrying hold her in their grips. Those of us who have walked this path know the battle is within us. We think we are God or don’t think God can handle things for us and assume it’s up to us to keep our children safe. Ultimately, Batchelder gets through it and gives her daughter the best gift: taking care of herself, living in the present, forgiving, expressing confidence in life, not just fear and regret, and encouraging her daughter to trust herself more and need her mother less. Batchelder shows us this process in her profoundly personal, important, and well-crafted memoir.

[Susan Lenz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Craving Spring was a short book and an easy read. Ann Batchelder's honesty and vulnerability were the best parts of the book. I felt as if the Greek myth of Demeter and her daughter Persephone and well as the vision of Malvado and Graffiti Girl were really just literary devices included to fill the mere 167 pages (a number that includes a one-page Epilogue written by Ann's daughter as well as acknowledgements and a blurb about Ann). My wish would have been to read more in depth details in the personal chapters, especially regarding some of the changing attitudes and relationships. I felt that Ann's relationship to her mother jumped from one critical and distant to a closeness that wasn't explained at all or at least well enough to explain the transition. There were other issues like this that seemed inadequately revealed. This book was well worth reading but left me wondering why it wasn't a longer telling.

[Zuzana Montagne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Ann Batchelder's Craving Spring for its honest portrayals of pain, uncertainty, and struggle which were balanced by the memoirist's unwavering pursuit of hope and healing. Batchelder's account spoke to me on many levels: as the mother of a young child who is just beginning to learn when to let go and when to double down, as a woman who has struggled to find the balance between my own desires and the perceived needs of others, and as a friend who has watched those I love battle addiction - and find their way out the other side.

I found much to sustain and inspire me in Batchelder's pursuit of a full and healthy life for herself and her daughter, not the half-life that we sometimes imagine is the best we can hope for for those in recovery, but a full, bountiful life, which is every human's birthright.

Bravo, Ann, for this tale of strength and determination.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Craving Spring is my favorite kind of memoir. The writing is beautiful and raw, placing me right inside the head and heart of a mother terrified about losing her daughter to addiction. As a mother who has dealt with my own fears of losing my daughter to a disease, I could relate so well to the delicate balance required to show up for a near-adult child without pushing her away. I loved the author's comparison to the Greek myth that was threaded through the book just enough to add context and meaning, but not so much that it overpowered the main story. Anyone who is a parent will understand the intense push-pull of trying to do the right thing for your child. Certainly anyone who has dealt with addiction or mental health issues (their own or a family member's) will also find much to love about this book. I highly recommend it.

[Amanda Jaros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ann Batchelder's Craving Spring is a powerful memoir about one woman learning how to mother a daughter who is struggling with drug addiction and mental health crises. Batchelder is honest and open about her fears and faults as she works the Al-Anon 12 Steps. She delves into the pain of her own childhood, which is sometimes more raw than she'd like. She shares her missteps of being a mother desperate to 'fix' her daughter, as much as she shares her successes in finding ways to let go. This is a well-written and compelling book for any reader, and a testament to the power of a mother's love. Yet, the beauty of this story comes not from Batchelder's love for her daughter, but from the love and care that she slowly, quietly, finally gives to herself.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Craving Spring explores addiction from a unique perspective. The focus isn't the daughter's addiction, per se, but the mother's addiction to being the perfect mom.

There are so many powerfully moving moments in this book that I won't detail here so as to not give anything away. But I will say one "reveal" gutted me and helped me understand more deeply why Ann was so fearful of losing her daughter.

And, wow, that Epilogue. Such a beautiful addition. I recommend this book to anyone interested in reading a well-wrought memoir about family dynamics.

I was fortunate to receive an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Judy Stowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Ann Batchelder shares a story, unfortunately not uncommon, yet the truth of that story remains veiled by society. Batchelder’s brave and HONEST accounts could help so many understand what goes on behind closed doors of a family in crisis. Raw emotion and incredible love that rises above all else and how her family arrived where they are today. I bought several copies to give as gifts.
Ann, Henri, Olivia and her brother Austin are a family like so many. Thank you for opening my eyes so I can be a better friend to so many that could use a little understanding and a lot of compassion.

[Judy Mandel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Craving Spring is a beautifully written and compelling account of every mother's fear of falling short for their child. Her visceral struggle to get through to her daughter to save her from a downward spiral will resonate with every mother. What does it take to be a good mother? What can she do when she knows her daughter needs help but resists? And how does she deal with her own limitations. They are lessons we all need to learn. You will come away with new understanding, knowledge and tools for your own life.

[Anne Gudger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ann Batchelder's Craving Spring is a beautiful truth-telling memoir of a mom's struggle to not only understand her daughter's addiction, but her own as well. For the daughter it's drugs. For the mother it's the drug of wanting to be a perfect mom. Batchelder weaves her story with mythology that grounds her mother/daughter relationships (both with her daughter and her own mother). Reading Craving Spring, I held my breath and cheered along with the author as she embraced her part in the snarly snarls of addiction, as she found peace on the other side.

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisitely written. In the midst of reading another book I sneaked a peak into Craving Spring. An hour later I was still reading. This memoir enveloped me entirely. The way the author details the complexity of her relationship not only with her daughter but herself is so beautiful, raw, honest -

This is a must read for anyone wanting to understand the nature of addiction especially as it relates the family relationships.

As a former addict now working in and writing about addiction, I will be suggesting Craving Spring for many years to come.

[L.L. Kirchner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance copy of this book from Ann, and had no idea what to expect. What a treat to read a story that revealed the illness of addiction from the side that draws less attention — the Al Anon side. The people who make sure everything gets done and tend to have their lives on the outside very much together, which makes it all the more impressive that they must do the equally difficult work of healing. I admired this honest account of that journey.

[Karen DeBonis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I have not walked in this author's shoes as a parent of a child with addiction, I felt every bit of her pain. Batchelder's struggle to let go of perfection and control will resonate with every mother. Weaving the Greek myth of Demeter, mother of Persephone, through her narrative was unique, engaging, and enlightening. I won't soon forget the mythical or the real story. I highly recommend this book for any parent who loves a child on a difficult journey.

[CKM · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Ann’s creative telling of this story about her struggle to do the right thing for her daughter in crisis, even when it went against her instincts as a loving mother. I was most affected by the moments when she reluctantly distanced herself, because I also saw those hard moments as a type of progress. It was an act of bravery for Ann to reveal the difficulties of her own upbringing and I appreciated how she wove their impact into the story. When the book ended, my thoughts about these two women did not. Both are amazing- strong, adventurous, talented, and courageous.

[Morgan Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew Craving Spring would resonate with me because I love memoirs and honest and complicated stories about mothers and daughters.

What I didn’t expect was that I would find a friend in the writer/narrator. The roller coaster ride for a parent dealing with a child’s struggles can be nauseating. In the end, Ann learns how to take care of herself and how to support her daughter without trying to fix her child’s problems – a hard, but important lesson for any mother.

[stylelover · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in awe of this beautiful book! The writer brilliantly weaves her story and a reimagined version of Demeter and Persephone, and the result is an honest, lyrical, story of acknowledgment, growth, and love. I am beyond grateful for memoirs like this one that show us specific and personal struggles through courage and that reveal universal truths we can all relate to and learn from. What an amazing, gorgeously written story.

[Barbara Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

an honest and probing look at both addiction and mothering.

I loved this book! I appreciated the immense amount of work Ann did to understand herself and her daughter and was inspired and moved by her honesty about the nature of addiction and the long journey toward healing. It is beautifully written and held my interest on every page.

[Ronit Plank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a satisfying approach to unfurling this mother-daughter story about addiction, recovery, and the toll of guilt, fear, and shame. In Craving Spring Ann Batchelder harnesses the Demeter-Persephone myth as archetype for sharing her this tender narrative of learning about herself and her daughter; what to let go of and what to hold onto no matter what.

[Laura Engel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary book! A one-of-a-kind story, yet a story that so many will relate to. I loved this mother and daughter journey that will resonate with all mothers and daughters. This book is important and a gift that will leave you changed in many ways.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highlighted so much as I was reading it. Not only is it beautifully written, it is a guide for parents of struggling young adults, showing us how to heal, help, and move forward. Weaving in the Grre myth is creative and moving, adding yet another layer of depth

[Lauren Harr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ann's book is so important for other parents, especially those with struggling teens, because it offers a new and different way for us to look at ourselves and our relationship to our children. We all have to find a way through and Ann's book is a guide, a friend, and a light in the dark.

[Amanda Shiver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my word, what a good read!! I did not want it to end! This is one inspirational book and it's wonderful that is shows that you can make decisions but that does not make you a bad person. I will definitely be re-reading this one!

[Eileen Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Craving Spring offers a unique look at the all too common problem of addiction. Ann Batchelder's use of a Greek myth in structuring this memoir is engaging and relatable.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mother's memoir of years wrestling with daughter's addiction.

[Allison Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chilling, and reads like a freaking thriller. Don't let the peaceful cover fool you!

On the first page, my heart started pounding when Ann finds herself in a hospital emergency room with her daughter... and spies a shadowy guy following her. Malvado. Cruel and unforgiving, he says she is a bad mother.

We quickly realize, Malvado is Ann's creation. And we've all felt like that.