Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I read this just as I was transitioning out of my first year of motherhood. Milwood captured perfectly the many dichotomies and paradoxes mothers tend to hold within themselves when they take on this new role. I felt so seen and understood, so many times I breathed a sigh of relief and thought “okay, so I’m NOT the only one”. As a doula, I think this is a wonderful contribution to nonfiction literature on motherhood. As a mother, it’s a life changing book that I wish I could afford to gift to every mother, new and seasoned, that I come across.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
I started this book while pregnant and had to put it down. I knew parenthood would be challenging, but this book made me feel like having a child would ruin my marriage, my sense of self, my life. Then, a few weeks after A was born, I had the desire to pick it up again. Something told me I would relate to it differently now that I had a baby. I was right. Now that she’s here, I can see how everything in the book about how challenging parenting is is true, and that’s okay. It can be hard and wonderful at the same time, and I didn’t know that before. “And, not but” (222).
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I'm giving this book 5 stars, not because it's perfect, but because I felt seen while reading it and – even though this is NOT a self-help book – it helped identify some elements of my behaviour that are making my experience of early motherhood harder than it needs to be (aka expectations).
Yes, it is absolutely depressing and I don't know if I'd recommend it to people who haven't had children yet (I'm on the fence about expecting parents). But to those who are right in the trenches, I think it just offers an honest perspective that ultimately says 'this is hard and you're not alone in feeling this way', which I find comforting. I also appreciated the personal anecdotes she threw in here and there.
Yes, it is absolutely depressing and I don't know if I'd recommend it to people who haven't had children yet (I'm on the fence about expecting parents). But to those who are right in the trenches, I think it just offers an honest perspective that ultimately says 'this is hard and you're not alone in feeling this way', which I find comforting. I also appreciated the personal anecdotes she threw in here and there.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced