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I actually read this some time last month but just realized I hadn't tracked it on any of the sites I use for tracking. This was a selection for my work book club dealing with postpartum psychosis and of all things beloved children's author Margaret Wise Brown. One of the ladies in my club actually experienced post partum psychosis and said this was the closest she's come to anyone expressing what it feels like while you are going through it.

Our unnamed narrator has just given birth and returned home from the hospital with her baby. Her husband is given zero days off for parental leave. She struggles not only to care for her baby alone, but also to try to discover who she is now that she is a mother. This little novel is relentless in its depiction of PPD, so if that's something that will bother you, stay far away.

I didn‘t like this short book while I was reading it, but once I finished it, I thought it had something to say. It‘s about a new mother, sometimes depressed, sometimes elated. So depressed at times she thinks about different ways to kill the baby. It‘s a book of her thoughts, from before she had the baby, during childbirth, and the first week after coming home. I really felt her despair and alternatively her happiness.

Most women expect birth to be a reckoning.

#FirstLineFridays@ShyBookOwl

There have been so many fabulous books about motherhood recently that are truthful about the parts that aren‘t sunshine and roses. This weirdly creepy novel also had a thread of Margaret Wise Brown‘s actual life that was also interesting. Good narration on #audiobook

While this book is not perfect, I found it immensely helpful, reassuring, and an interesting read. It's full of scientific citations, details about studies about breastfeeding, guidance on general approach, and practical tips. I could have done without the intro which argues breastfeeding is superior to formula and about health benefits. This intro is a) unnecessary if you've already decided to breastfeed; b) scary to read; c) a bit judgmental.

In the days following the birth of Megan's first child, strange things begin to happen. The reader wonders, is she being haunted or is she psychotic? Fine's depiction of the isolation of new motherhood and of the expectation for everything to be a-ok right away feels capital-T True, but the unfolding of the story is tedious at times (as is motherhood). This novel addresses the ways we fail women and the things that we pass down to our children.

Meh. Predictable with no added value

I personally think that Julia Fine is super underrated. This is a masterful unraveling. I deeply disliked Meg, but the writing kept me enraptured. The inclusion of Margaret Wise Brown and Michael Strange was interestingly done. Julia Fine‘s style is decidedly offbeat, but in a way that really works for me. I can‘t recommend her books enough.

I found myself picking this up and putting it down more than I anticipated—savoring delightful twists. Relishing the ideas and the oddity. Both wanting to devour and languish. This is exactly the weird and wonderful I hoped for. This book created vivid mental pictures, played with form, and explored important topics. That being said, the MC isn‘t necessarily likable and this may not be for everyone. YT thoughts —> https://youtu.be/3WipNj32WPc