The Compleat Mother was founded in Ontario Canada by Catherine Young, who published the first issue in the winter of 1985. 

In the words of Catherine’s daughter, Rebecca, read at her funeral:

In 1999 Catherine was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She put out a call to her readers for someone to take over publishing the magazine, as she anticipated being unable to carry on.  I sent her an impassioned letter asking her to consider me as her successor; however, Catherine continued publishing until her death in September 2001.  Her daughter, Rebecca Young, assumed ownership of The Compleat Mother and published four issues of the magazine.  In the fall of 2002, around the time of the anniversary of Catherine’s death, Rebecca ceased publishing. 

In the spring of 2003, I called to inquire about the status of my subscription, as I had not received a magazine in quite some time.  It was then I learned of the need for a successor to Catherine’s role and the work she began, and I committed to continue the magazine.  That summer I traveled to Ontario and visited Catherine’s family, who reiterated their desire for her work to continue under my leadership.  I was happy to spend time with them.  It was important to me they know the person who would carry on the magazine. 

My time with Catherine’s family was lovely.  We spent our hours chatting about the magazine and its history, and about their beloved Catherine.  We packed up all the archived Compleat Mother materials and I was given the original back issues from the family safe.  We signed the sales agreement, which transferred ownership of the magazine to me, and they gave me their blessing to continue the magazine.

By June 2003, I was actively involved in the editing of the next issue of the magazine – Summer 2003 – and had undertaken the daunting task of learning how to use the layout software.  By the time Fall 2003 was being prepared, I was busy becoming familiar with the layout and getting to know my way around the running of the magazine.  I had already mailed a letter of introduction to our Canadian subscribers, current and lapsed, explaining the transfer of the magazine.  I was also working fast to get myself established enough to print the next issue.  Fall 2003 marked the first issue containing Mother to Mother authored by me.

Winter 2003 was the first magazine published in Canada again, after a year’s absence.  By then, I was entrenched in all aspects of publishing and I continued to assert my creative vision.  Although my first foray into publishing was rife with errors and required much tweaking to make print-ready, I was ecstatic with the result and fueled by the accomplishment.

That trend continued.  Spring 2004 included much more Canadian content, both from reader contributions and Canadian advertisers, and the overall look of the magazine was getting better with each publication.  (One of my top priorities has always been to bring Canadian content back up to the level during Catherine’s height.)  By the summer of 2004, I was ready to prepare the layout myself and Fall 2004 – our 75th celebration issue – was my first solo magazine.  I have created all issues since.

As for me, I am married to Marco and we have a darling daughter named Femke. We also share our home with two dogs and a cat, who apparently thinks living between the drywall in the basement beats cohabitating with a couple of oafish hounds. 

The Compleat Mother’s mandate is to be a global forum for women everywhere to share their stories and be in community.  It is my vision to see this tribe flourish and grow as Catherine intended.  In the words of our intrepid founder:

It was a year ago that our first, skinny, hand-stapled, issue appeared unannounced, and largely unwanted in grocery stores, hospitals and community centres.
Our first cover story emphasized what we were about: A black woman adopted and breastfed her white baby. There was a revolution going on, and not in men’s clothing. The times they had a-changed, and were far better than anyone had ever expected they could be.
Each issue, more letters filled our mailbox and more advertisers noticed our reasonable rates. Over the year we declined association with Baby Tylenol, Milupa Formula and several pacifier companies. They are not part of the revolutionary future where babies are born healthy and easily satisfied with mother’s breasts and father’s arms.

A miracle happens when a man and a woman choose to do without the trappings of a double-income lifestyle in favour of a family. A miracle happens when a woman sorts through the sugar and additives and preservatives of supermarket options and chooses a sound and nutritious diet that will nourish her unborn child well. A miracle happens when an eight pound baby pushes down the birth canal and is born by his mother's strength, through her vagina into the world where his father watches and is moved to tears by the experience.

In this magazine we want to cover the miracles newspapers and television overlooked: the healthy pregnancy, the joyful birth and the contented baby.