Maybe Baby, edited by Lori Leibovich
Feb. 2nd, 2008 08:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snugglekittyThis new anthology was very well-reviewed, and is also applicable to my work, so I thought I'd give it a try. It took me a while to get through it, and for some of that while, I was concerned that the book was biased, too pro-parenting. There are far fewer "no" and "maybe" essays than there are "yes" essays, and they didn't seem to be too happy. Well, that was before I read the rest of the book. The "yes" essays aren't happy, either. My initial response to this book was to mention that the introduction says that those who don't want children and don't have them are equally happy compared with those who do want children and do have them, and to point out that none of these people seem to have been contributing writers. That response turns out to have been correct. This book is not a light read. Most of the essays point to deep inner conflicts, loss, and uncertainty. If you think that you don't need to worry about whether to have children, or even if you think you know how you feel about that issue, this book will shake you up and make you wonder. I had to put it down for a week when I was halfway through, because I felt I was worrying to excess about whether I was going to have children myself - not something that's usually on my mind.
With all that being said, my favorite essays were "Parenting on a Dare," a teen mom's decision to keep her baby, "Not a Pretty Story," a woman wrestling with her difficult mother as she becomes a mother herself, "Mother's Little Helper", about motherhood and alcohol and larger issues of the happiness of mothers, "Diagnosis: Broken", about having a child that's different, and "My Tribe," encompassing a wide range of issues. Yet, none of these stories are really happy, except perhaps "Parenting On a Dare." Seriously, people, this book is FULL OF ANGST. Approach with caution. I would give the book three stars, but please consider your feelings about having children before you start reading it. If you are already worried in some way about that issue, this book will only make it worse.
With all that being said, my favorite essays were "Parenting on a Dare," a teen mom's decision to keep her baby, "Not a Pretty Story," a woman wrestling with her difficult mother as she becomes a mother herself, "Mother's Little Helper", about motherhood and alcohol and larger issues of the happiness of mothers, "Diagnosis: Broken", about having a child that's different, and "My Tribe," encompassing a wide range of issues. Yet, none of these stories are really happy, except perhaps "Parenting On a Dare." Seriously, people, this book is FULL OF ANGST. Approach with caution. I would give the book three stars, but please consider your feelings about having children before you start reading it. If you are already worried in some way about that issue, this book will only make it worse.