Lust, love, and pregnancy—hidden from the luxury and leisure of cruise ships, the lives of crew members play out below deck. Ship Moms is a collection of these beautiful, complicated, behind-the-scenes true stories of crew members and the babies they brought into the world.

The lives of cruise ship crew members don’t stop when they are below deck. Ship Moms is a collection of behind-the-scenes stories about the relationships that bloom between crew members and all the wonderful mixed-nationality babies being brought into the world as a result, representing nearly forty countries and ten cruise lines. Here are the stories of these ship moms—stories of their strength, their endurance, and their tenacity in making it work against all odds. Beautiful and complicated, heartwarming and heart-wrenching, this collection spills the dirt on the ship life experience, telling real-life stories about connections that result in real-life babies.

Jen Winsor is an arts administrator who has worked in the Newfoundland and Labrador arts scene for almost 20 years, focusing on music and literature. Jen left the province to travel with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Arts and Entertainment Division, but her plans were cut short when she got pregnant, with a crew member 12 years younger than her. Returning to her home province, she happily became the Executive Director of WritersNL. When she’s not lost in a book or typing up funding applications, you’ll find her hiking the East Coast Trail, enjoying a drag show, or experiencing some live music. Jen lives in St. John’s with her son, Gabriel, and his ridiculously good-looking Brazilian dad, Luiz.

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