Author, scholar, and educator working in Maternal Ecopsychology.
I write and teach about matrescence in a time of ecological crisis: how becoming a mother can deepen our bond with the living world, and what can grow from that bond.
What happens when a woman becomes a mother during the slow emergency of ecological crisis?
I was nursing my daughter when I read the IPCC report: twelve years to limit catastrophic warming, less than the length of her childhood. My body made milk while I realized her future had a deadline. Behind my house stood a juniper—twisted, scarred, and magnificent. Over years of returning to her, I learned how her growth in hostile terrain made ground for what came after.
Mother Juniper names maternal ecodistress and traces a developmental path through it, arguing that the wound severing mothers from Earth is the wound at the root of our ecological crisis.
“Allison Davis has done something remarkable with Mother Juniper: she named maternal ecodistress with the precision of a clinician, the courage of a mother, and the grounded wisdom of someone who has genuinely learned from the living world, opening a new domain of care that climate psychology has long needed someone to pioneer. For anyone who has felt the impossible weight of loving a child fiercely while grieving the planet they will inherit, this book is both a salve and a revelation, weaving nature connection, attachment science, and lived matrescence into a framework that finally holds the whole truth of what we are carrying. A beacon for mothering in these times.”
“Until now, psychology, psychiatry, and modern medicine in general have had no container for the strife of mothers struggling to nurture and nourish their children in the era of ecological crisis. Allie Davis has written the book and done the research that assures me I am not alone. You have named our Maternal Eco-Trauma. Maybe in baby steps, we can heal it enough to survive, perhaps to thrive.”
“I have never before seen such a deep understanding of how the transition to motherhood has become both a precipice for severe climate distress, and an opportunity, if properly supported, for the development of a strong and centered Ecological Selfhood. Allison skillfully weaves her own story and the power found in her secure attachment to Mother Juniper, with wisdom born from years of witnessing and guiding other mamas to a place of wholeness from which we are prepared to face our children's futures. This book is a must-read for all professionals in the perinatal fields, and a wonderful resource for any mother who has believed herself alone on this journey. I only wish it had been available when my child was born.”
“Mother Juniper gives us a long-needed revision of attachment theory that is intended to match the realistic experience of eco-distress with ecological care work. The worldview presented is the therapeutic reframing that women have been crying for and need immediately. Allison Davis grounds us in a vision of how to nourish matrescence and thereby meet the true needs of children. A weave of memoir, practical nature-based guidance, and overview of feminist and ecospychology research, the framework Davis provides is a service to everyone, especially young and future mothers.”
“If you’ve ever found yourself deeply responsible for the survival and wellbeing of another living being, you need to read this book! And if you or a friend are going through the profound rite of passage of becoming a mother in a time of ecological crisis, author Allison Davis offers an essential guide to the transformative psychological transition that happens as “the self becomes a mother.” Maternal ecodistress and the Earth-Mother wound are increasingly urgent issues as we all struggle to survive and thrive in worsening circumstances. Davis reminds us that “What mothers are experiencing in the slow emergency matters beyond mothers themselves. The capacity for ecological consciousness travels through the attachment system, activated by the work of tending new life.”
My scholarship develops Maternal Ecopsychology through research on matrescence, maternal ecodistress, ecological carework, and climate-aware maternal mental health.
Occasional notes on motherhood, ecological life, research, and teaching, with book news and invitations to new offerings as they open.
Look for an email from me soon!
