In this Sunday Sermon, iconic singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer will explore what it means to be a new mother in 2016.

In her mid-thirties, singer-songwriter and New York Times bestselling author Amanda Palmer approached a conflicted baby conundrum. She’d always had a hard time shaking the belief that suffering and isolation were important to making art. If she had kids, would she turn into a boring, irrelevant, ignorable artist? Would she suddenly start writing songs about balance and meadows of wheat and going-with-the-flow? Would she become that annoying person who is so enthralled with their child that it’s impossible to have an intelligent conversation with them about art because they’d rather show you iPhone photos of their kid drooling out a spoonful of mashed carrots?

Eight months after the birth of her son Anthony, Amanda joins The School of Life to tell us whether she was right to be afraid.

“We’re going to talk about how babies are the gateway to a new universe. We’re going to talk about how people treat you differently with a child, and about the hopes and fears of every new parent. We’re going to talk about abortion and miscarriage, and why as a society we make women go through it all alone, in the closet, ashamed, instead of recognising their mourning.”

Discover new perspectives on what it means to push a small human out of your body in 2016. There’ll be hymns. There’ll be ukulele. Join in.

ABOUT SUNDAY MORNINGS

Since 2008 The School of Life has presented strictly secular Sunday Sermons exploring the values we should live by today. We ask maverick cultural figures to give us their take on the virtues to cling to or the vices to be wary of in our complex world. Expect persuasive polemics, pop-song hymns and artist-made buns and biscuits.

TIMETABLE
11.20 Doors open
11.40 Sermon starts
12.30 Refreshments served
13.00 End