From Publishers WeeklyPoet Fennelly shares, in letters to a formerly pregnant friend, the joys and sorrows of pregnancy and motherhood. Fennelly's letters read like prose, but they're also loaded with information on all aspects of pregnancy-cravings, fear of childbirth, anxieties over health and a changing body-as well as insights on relationships and child rearing. In one letter, she shares a powerful and personal story about how "family secrets...have a way of rotting a family's foundation," and in another she writes about the pleasant surprise of discovering that motherhood "is tremendously sweet, which we all know; it's also tremendously funny, which isn't so well recognized." The letters are arranged chronologically, so the topics ebb and flow according to Fennelly's moods and daily experiences, so the letter celebrating her daughter's victory over potty training is followed by a letter revealing "the erotics of motherhood," which is followed by a treatise on maintaining a tranquil home after baby's arrival. Expecting and new mothers looking for short doses of inspiration will find a year's worth here.Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.From BooklistFennelly loved to play school as a child, went on to teach, and originally addressed these letters to a former student. She found them so helpful that she shared them with another woman pregnant for the first time, who in turn sent them to another. These are no hastily written, lowercase, misspelled, emotional e-mails. Fennelly used, as she wrote in the first letter, "the weight of a pen and thick paper under my hand" to lead her "to a slower pace, slower thoughts, to handpicked words." The first recipient was computer-less, anyway, in Alaska, where her husband's fellowship landed her. In subsequent letters, Fennelly shares the experience of attending a Quaker wedding, her own odd dreams during pregnancy, the joy and the literal shittiness of motherhood, and the sweetness and ease of long-term friendships with people seen only occasionally: "We're able to move so quickly to deep levels of conversation. We don't need to fill each other in on backstory." A reflective, transformative book capable of enlightening beyond parenthood. Whitney ScottCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved Captures the doubts and frustrations as well as the joys of motherhood....Her missives are alternately moving, funny, and practical, with an unusual honesty about just how hard it is to be a young mother. - Margo Hammond, St. Petersburg TimesI read Great with Child in one sitting, crying and laughing throughout. Beth Ann Fennelly has written an instant classic, filled with humor and wisdom. - Lee Smith, author of On Agate Hill and The Last GirlsA poetic and heartfelt guide to pregnancy and young motherhood.... A moving and magical read. - Scholastic Parent Child what is the best blog for writers Great with Child: Letters to a Young Mother
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. LovelyBy Kindle CustomerThese days, it seems like every book for expectant mothers is meant to terrify you. From what can go wrong with your baby, to what is wrong with our hospital system, sometimes it can make a woman crazy. This book is the antidote to all of the crazy out there. Ms. Fennelly's prose is wonderful (she is a poet, after all) and it's light, heartwarming reading. She talks with both love and frankness about the changes a baby brings to one's life, and at the end of the book you feel uplifted rather than scared to death.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Wonderful! Not a book of adviceBy M. BassWonderful! Not a book of advice, but a heartfelt exchange about what it means to become a mother, and to carry a child. I give it to all my friends when they are expecting.Note - trigger warning - the author discusses a miscarriage she experienced. It is very moving to hear her describe her experience, but just be aware if that is a sensitive topic for you.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy PecanI love the prose and thought put into this book. Lovely and thought provoking.