Diana Shams, a 27-year-old mother of two from Gaza, has written a book about wartime motherhood after her life was upended by the conflict that has devastated the strip. Her book, A Different Kind of Motherhood, chronicles the daily struggles of raising children amid violence, displacement and scarcity.
Shams began writing on her phone after her laptop was lost under the rubble of her family home. She says she wanted to document the reality of motherhood in Gaza, where women give birth in shelters and tents, often without medicine or electricity. The book also includes the stories of other Palestinian mothers who were killed or lost their children.
Before the war, Shams lived a relatively normal life, worrying about screen time and sugar for her children. She and her husband had saved to buy a home and welcomed their second child, Rose, in early 2023. But seven months later, they were forced to flee after a neighbour’s house was bombed. They have been living in and out of tents ever since.
Shams says even the news reports cannot fully capture what families endure. “Who can understand what it means for my daughter Rose to take her first steps in mud and dirt?” she asked. She found solace in documenting her life on TikTok, where a video of her tent flooding during a rainstorm went viral, prompting an outpouring of support.
“I was touched by every word people wrote in support of me,” Shams said. “That’s when I felt I had to be a voice for all the mothers in Gaza who have none.” Her book is dedicated to those women who rocked their babies while the ceiling shook and who gave birth in the dark.
