My Moroccan matrescence

When Nadia Mahjouri travelled to Marrakech with her four-month-old baby to find her long lost father, she also underwent the process of matrescence — becoming a new version of herself as a mother.

Nadia Mahjouri is a Moroccan-Australian author and counsellor.

Growing up in Launceston, Tasmania, Nadia didn’t know anyone else who had her height, dark skin and curly hair.

She knew her father was Moroccan, but that was the extent of the information she had about him. 

When she had her first baby at 21, Nadia decided to go to Morocco to try to find him. 

All she had was her family name, a photo of her parents on their wedding day, and the name of a suburb in Marrakech.

Nadia's journey to Morocco intersected with the process of inhabiting a new role in her life — mother.

Nadia's book Half Truth is published by Penguin Random House.

This episode of Conversations focuses on family dynamics, epic life story, grief, fatherlessness, matrescence, motherhood, personal stories, origin stories, ancestry, Morocco, Tasmania and becoming a mum.

Nadia's book Half Truth is published by Penguin Random House.