Mothers can be controversial. They can be wonderful. They can be terrible. They can be both wonderful and terrible in turns.

But whatever they are, whatever yours was and is, mothers are universal. Everyone begins with a mother, even if she isn’t around later. In each Mother Mine episode I present one person's stories about their mother — these figures who literally made us. Who are our mothers? What do we remember about them? And how did our mothers — the people who cared for us — shape who we are?

The answers to these questions are the stories of love and loss, hopes, fears, and dreams that define us humans.

Thank you so much to all of our contributors! And a huge thank you to our Kickstarter Backers. You made this happen and I am so grateful!

If you'd like to participate in the Mother Mine project, you can find all the details at www.outofmanypresents.org.

Mother Mine is produced by Katie Semro in conjunction with Our Mothers Ourselves.