I had high hopes for this audiobook because I was excited to hear a memoir, focused on pregnancy and parenting, from a trans writer. The book jumped around a lot, which was clearly a stylistic choice, but made it somewhat difficult to stay engaged. I stopped listening a couple of months ago and have found that I am just not interested in picking it up to finish it. Why? While the author shares a lot about their life, there is some element of remove/reserve that glazes over the whole thing and makes them feel distant. So, this was disappointing. But I am glad that this book exists and I hope that publishers will invest in more trans stories - I may not love all of them, but I want them to be out there on the shelves!

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!

The natural mother of the child follows Krys a nonbinary individual who share the experience of navigating pregnancy as a trans masc person. The book discusses trials difficulties and the joys of being a non-binary parent. Very thought provoking and educational for me

Thank you NETGALLY For the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review

“Nothing about being pregnant made me feel feminine. This body is what it is: not quite man, not quite woman, but with the parts to create and shape life. To expel and care for that life.”

THE NATURAL MOTHER OF THE CHILD a powerful memoir-in-essays that tackles the legal, medical, and social underpinnings of pregnancy, birth, and parenthood, and all the ways, expected and unexpected, that being a transmasculine nonbinary parent upsets these structures - as well as how the author himself was changed by his pregnancy. Belc integrates photographs and documents into the book, adding another dimension to sharing his experiences and insights. I really loved the way he digs into the messiness of what his parenting journey has been like in our cisheteronormative context from multiple angles: prenatal care and birth certificates, binding and breastfeeding, disordered eating and dysphoria, one’s own childhood and learning to parent, transitioning and queer family making. The writing is lyrical and the structure is both fragmented and profound. It’s the kind of memoir that feels like a gift to read and hold. Thanks to Counterpoint Press for the review copy!

Contact warnings: homophobia, transphobia, gender dysphoria, child abuse

This was an interesting book. I thought the story that Krys told through out about the lives of he and his wife and the relationships with their sons was really good. I felt the emotions and different views with the two of them had for parenting/mothering was quite powerful. The personal feelings against this backdrop of a journey navigating the American system that does not treat trans people fairly or kindly was well written. Their story and experience was so personal and unique but I'm sure it isn't completely alone in it's situation (trans masc non binary parent having baby, immigrant mother having baby, adoption process, etc)

It felt very emotional and traumatic to read the experiences Krys personally had to deal with. I saw many reviews in regards to Krys's behaviour and aggression towards he children and wife,,, and I felt like that internal struggle and constant societal pressures for Krys as a non binary trans masc person and parent must be beyond that of what many of us deal with. Those added pressures could absolutely contribute to an extra layer or more of personal feelings and frustrations.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* great read, very moving. I love reading memoirs because i love hearing about others lives and expriences so this book was very interesting.

The Natural Mother of the Child is series of essays, exploring the experience of gestational parenthood and how it intersects with Krys Malcolm Belc's gender identity. This memoir is told in documents and snapshots, which is a style that doesn't work for everyone but I enjoy it. It feels a bit like flipping through a scrapbook with a friend, or learning about someone's life as your rifle through papers in a box on their desk. Krys Malcolm Belc is not self-conscious about meandering down memory lane with the reader. Even though his parenting experience might be different from your life experience, there is so much earnest humanity in these pages that you will feel like you made a friend along the way. Queer family building is so interesting and multifaceted, and there are so many details and complications along the way. I thought Krys did a lovely job of dragging some of these things out of the shadows and working through his own questions and feelings along the way.

I listened to the audio book, which I received for free from the publisher via NetGalley. It was read by the author and I really enjoyed it. It made me want to hang out with Krys and hear more of his stories about his mom, his wife, his children and their antics. I also bought a hardcover copy with my own cashdollars so I could see the visual essay parts of the book.

This was a fascinating, informative and emotional memoir about parenting a child as a nonbinary transmasculine parent. Krys Malcom Belc gave birth to his son Samson and that process helped them gain some clarity on his gender identity. It helped him determine he definitely did not identify with a female gender. He also shares the struggles of being a non-traditional couple and "adopting" a child a partner gave birth to. It was a maze of bureaucracy of almost nightmare proportion.

I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by the author and it was very well done.

I highly recommend this one to anyone interested in diversifying their reading. It is a great pick not only for getting an LGBTQ+ perspective but also on understanding parental rights.

A powerful memoir about parenting, dealing with the effects of your childhood as an adult, transitioning and the struggles of LGBTQ+ parents.

Krys's incredible honesty about all of these topics was very relatable. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by the author. It's always hit or miss as to whether I will enjoy an author reading their own book, but in this case, I felt like I was reading Krys's journal and it was nice to hear their voice telling me the story.

I do think I would recommend a physical copy of this book over the audio simply because of the writing style. It switches back and forth from first person narrative to speaking to someone else as if in a letter/reflection regularly and I found it a bit jarring every time it happened and scrambling to figure out who was being spoken about. There are also some legal documents near the end that would have been easier to absorb the contents of if I were viewing it rather than listening.

***Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing me with a copy of the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

I expected this memoir to focus on the topic of trans-parenthood specifically, the physical and psychological tolls. I found it to be a much more broad memoir of the entire trans experience of the author, and yet I don't feel totally let in by the writing.

Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this title, I think because the anecdotes / story telling didn't feel like they flowed smoothly. I don't feel like the pregnancy and post-natal experience was given enough focus with the title/subtitle/description being what they were.

The Natural Mother of the Child is a creative memoir of nonbinary parenthood.

Author Krys Malcom Belc stitches together essays, recollections, and documentation into a nonlinear book about family and identity. While I really liked his narration, I waited to finish the book until I could page through a print copy. The title comes from adoption paperwork that described Krys as "the natural mother of the child."

Language often seems gendered, but the language around giving birth especially so. "The problem with reading about the science of pregnancy," Belc writes, "is that I cannot help being angry at the words mother and maternal."

Various emotions described throughout are raw, practically visceral at times. This is a memoir rich in reflection, especially when it comes to gender identity and parenthood. Changes in point of view tripped me up in a few places; it's possible the shifts in perspective are clearer when reading the text rather than the audiobook (or for those more used to literary memoir). That wasn't ever show-stopping, but is perhaps something to be aware of to guide your own reading.

Overall, this is a very personal memoir with a meandering style. But it also feels reflective of life in that way, and perhaps one's journey in becoming a parent and, as Belc put it, "know(ing) the person (he) had to become."

While I loved the content of this book, I think the audio version is somewhat lacking due to the book's reliance on images and documents. Audiobooks should always be paired with a downloadable resource with visual items or citations included in the book. This would go a long way in expanding the types of books offered effectively over audio format.

Belc's story is honestly, unflinchingly, and earnestly told. Audio versions are usually made better when the author narrates, and this was no exception.

Thanks #netgallery. This was a great, quick read. Both interesting and insightful. I had the audiobook. Good narration.

This was just beyond me and I'm sorry I wasn't able to finish it. I will try to revisit this again at a later date and maybe I will be able to push through.

I truly enjoyed this book, and I think it would be perfect for anyone else who devoured Kate Bornstein and S. Bear Bergman’s Gender Outlaws books.

The Natural Mother traces the outlines of Berc's experiences as a trans masculine gestational parent. It is a collection of touching essays that mark different pivotal moments of his life with his children. It is important to note that is it a collection of essays more than a traditional memoir, as otherwise the leaps in time and location can be rather disorienting.

Some of the most heartwarming and relatable moments come when Berc discusses his relationship with his son Samson. While the entire concept of the project requires a certain amount of vulnerability, the stories otherwise can feel like they stop just short of revealing the underlying emotions impelling him to write. Rating four stars because I loved the idea, but wanted it to get a bit deeper.

I also love that Berc read the audiobook version. It was the best choice for such a personal story.

I am grateful to both the publisher and NetGalley for providing an Audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WHAT WORKED WELL FOR ME
🏳️‍⚧️ The Natural Mother of the Child was an intriguing and vulnerable story about a transmasculine non-binary parent.
🏳️‍🌈 It was refreshing to read a trans story as I feel like the T is sometimes forgotten in LGBTQIA so I’m glad Belc shared their raw and personal story.
👨‍🍼 I learnt more about the complexities of queer parenting; especially the adoption process. I appreciate Belc’s honesty about their unique trans/non-binary parenting experience.

WHAT DID NOT WORK FOR ME
📝 The memoir is written in essays form and the stream of consciousness style did not work well me. The timeline shifts often which made it difficult to follow as there is no real narrative flow.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, with a caveat - 3.5 star is pretty good in my opinion. It does come with some trigger warnings (in comments) which may not be for everyone. Thank you @NetGalley for my first ARC audiobook in return for an honest review.

This book was neither here nor there for me. It was very informative but I’m not someone who usually reads nonfiction so I probably wouldn’t pick this up on my own

In this memoir, Krys tells the story of his pregnancy, and how that experience helped shape him as a non-binary trans masc person.

As a non-binary person who does want kids some day, this was a very interesting read. Krys talked about all of the parts of his pregnancy that I fear for myself, so having his insight was affirming, but also opened up my eyes to other concerns I hadn’t even considered.

I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by the author himself, which always adds a personal touch, but the narration feels very flat, very monotone the whole time. While I did still enjoy the narration, the book is described as a “visual memoir”, so I probably missed out on a lot of interesting details. I also found that strictly listening to the audiobook made parts of the structure and timeline hard to follow.

Three and a half stars. I think I may have rated it differently if I’d read it rather than listened. My hesitation to rate words written about someone’s life, rather than a work of fiction, will cause me to round up this time.

This story was really important and I feel lucky to have been provided an advanced copy of the audiobook from NetGalley. I love memoir's that are read by the author. There were some issues with the audiobook sound quality. At times it sounded like there was an echo. There were times the book felt rushed in sections where I was hoping to learn more, but overall I thought this was a fantastic memoir that shared a story unlike any I've heard before.

This collection of essays memorializes Belc's experiences as a transmasculine, nonbinary parent, and how that experience clarified his gender identity.

I don't typically read essay collections, but this was absolutely lovely and well written!

I so appreciated how brave and honest the author is in his writing. Life is difficult, messy, and beautiful and it would have been so easy to gloss over some of the messiness, particularly some of the author's more "taboo" inner thoughts regarding parenthood, pregnancy, and gender. However, the author confronts the good, the bad, and the ugly head on, with a self awareness that was astounding to me in the best way!

I have a hard time rating something that is someone's personal, open, and honest experience of their own life, but I was so impressed by this and was genuinely sad when it ended.

The Natural Mother of the Child is memoir, though about much more than parenting and pregnancy, Krys Malcolm Belc ping pongs between his own childhood, relationships, being an adult child, adulting, and finally pregnancy and parenting.
The audiobook is read by the author which is a good fit for this memoir. I would have enjoyed the book in print more probably - mostly due to the jumping timeline for which print allows more reader pauses and reflection.
That being said, as a women’s health physician, this book raises several topics that I hope to consider carefully in the future. The word “mother” vs “parent” and becoming pregnant while navigating unease about your body.
The author somewhat brushes over some of his violent streaks. This made me uncomfortable and will mean I’ll recommend it selectively to patients. Had he been more apologetic for those outbursts or forthcoming about the extent of it, that might have been different. As written, I’m uncertain to what extent this has impacted his wife and family. With rage and anger being so prominent in our culture, we need to treat this trigger with caution.
Finally, I wish publishers would review medial comments from non-medical authors more carefully. Perhaps mistakes will be corrected in the final audiobook - but some of the comments about mechanisms of medications are downright wrong.
Overall, a worthwhile read and incredibly important topic. I’m grateful to the author for putting himself out there with such courage.