Matrescence by Lucy Jones has been longlisted for the first-ever Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.

The Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction is a major new annual book prize that celebrates exceptional narrative non-fiction by women. The winner will receive £30,000 and will be chosen based on three core tenets, which mirror its sister fiction prize: excellence, originality and accessibility.

Published by Allen Lane, Matrescence draws on new research across various fields – neuroscience and evolutionary biology; psychoanalysis and existential therapy; sociology, economics and ecology – to shows how the changes in the maternal mind, brain and body are far more profound, wild and enduring than we have been led to believe. Jones reveals the dangerous consequences of our neglect of the maternal experience and interrogates the patriarchal and capitalist systems that have created the untenable situation mothers face today.

It is an urgent examination of the modern institution of motherhood, which seeks to unshackle all parents from oppressive social norms. As it deepens our understanding of matrescence, it raises vital questions about motherhood and femininity; interdependence and individual identity; as well as about our relationships with each other and the living world.