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bennysbooks's Reviews (668)
One of the best books about pregnancy I have ever read. Garbes offers a thoroughly non-judgemental approach to the topics mothers are most often pressured into, and an enthusiastic insight into some of the biology behind the process.
While I couldn't say that this is the only book you need for pregnancy, I would recommend that most pregnant people start here. There are many topics that are left untouched, but Garbes provides the basis for a woman to explore her options through other materials, while acknowledging that other sources have agendas or strong beliefs in what is best that do not work for every woman. In all of my reading during my pregnancy, I was able to read various opinions with a grain of salt, but would have felt much more confident doing so had I been able to start here.
The chapter on miscarriage was also extremely healing for me, as a woman who has experienced both a miscarriage and an abortion.
Actually, I found the whole book to be extremely healing, helping me to move on from a traumatic birth experience and embrace that I am both a mother and an individual struggling to fully flesh out how those identities work for me.
Definitely recommending this to anyone who is pregnant, has birthed a child, or knows someone who is pregnant or has birthed a child. Basically, all of us. 😉
While I couldn't say that this is the only book you need for pregnancy, I would recommend that most pregnant people start here. There are many topics that are left untouched, but Garbes provides the basis for a woman to explore her options through other materials, while acknowledging that other sources have agendas or strong beliefs in what is best that do not work for every woman. In all of my reading during my pregnancy, I was able to read various opinions with a grain of salt, but would have felt much more confident doing so had I been able to start here.
The chapter on miscarriage was also extremely healing for me, as a woman who has experienced both a miscarriage and an abortion.
Actually, I found the whole book to be extremely healing, helping me to move on from a traumatic birth experience and embrace that I am both a mother and an individual struggling to fully flesh out how those identities work for me.
Definitely recommending this to anyone who is pregnant, has birthed a child, or knows someone who is pregnant or has birthed a child. Basically, all of us. 😉
Dnf'd at 200 pages. It's not that I don't understand why people like/love this book. I just don't understand how I am in such a stark minority.
The plot delivered something, it's just not something that works for everybody. I wanted better character development, but the characters were mostly stereotypes and cliches. I wanted a more in-depth look at some of the issues presented, but the tone was often flippant or downright farcical. The humour technically worked, it had me laughing, but in the way that your friend who turns everything into a joke to avoid dealing with anything serious has you laughing. There were too many convenient coincidences for the plot to really grip me, and I can see people getting caught up in the story (I certainly did in the beginning part about his biological mom), but the promise of something "tender" or "heartbreaking" on the horizon wasn't enough to keep me engaged for another nearly 400 pages.
I wouldn't ever tell people to avoid this book outright, and I will definitely pass it on. It just wasn't worth the slog for me.
The plot delivered something, it's just not something that works for everybody. I wanted better character development, but the characters were mostly stereotypes and cliches. I wanted a more in-depth look at some of the issues presented, but the tone was often flippant or downright farcical. The humour technically worked, it had me laughing, but in the way that your friend who turns everything into a joke to avoid dealing with anything serious has you laughing. There were too many convenient coincidences for the plot to really grip me, and I can see people getting caught up in the story (I certainly did in the beginning part about his biological mom), but the promise of something "tender" or "heartbreaking" on the horizon wasn't enough to keep me engaged for another nearly 400 pages.
I wouldn't ever tell people to avoid this book outright, and I will definitely pass it on. It just wasn't worth the slog for me.