If books were a relationship status, I'd have to say Everything's Still There + Me = It's complicated.

This was an audio arc with fabulous narrators and it kept me listening from the very moment it began. In summary, this book is about life. Births, the enormous pressure on moms, the even more pressure of being a mom in this particular time where influencers and instagram make life seem perfect......when yours is not. The feeling of abject failure when you cannot live up to the #momtribe society which somehow we've become. It's about isolation. Sadness. Disparity of partners in child rearing. All told through main character Brynn's experiences as a lonely new mom with a feeling of failure later identified as post partum depression.

The dual storyline features a woman at the other end of life - aging, lonely neighbor Joy and her retelling of her very interesting life, stories of her children young, the relationships now, the fear all mothers have for their adult children when they sense the universe is unbalanced. Brynn and Joy forge a friendship which mimics a parent to a grown child. That was honestly my favorite part of the book - there is no cap on needing to be a mother, or needing to feel mothered.

I seriously loved this book.....until about the 80th percent mark. I cannot share exactly why because that would spoil your journey, but one of the big reveals was no surprise to me (a real life version of an aging mother with her grown kids too far for frequent visits). It was so obvious to me I guess I'm going to assume author Kalyn Fogarty wanted the reader to know throughout the story???? I also didn't like the pretty, easily wrapped up fix of Brynn's post partum depression. From my own journey, I related very much to that part of the character and skipping through time to months later is not an accurate picture.

Alas, like life, the journey ends when it ends and we don't get to choose, otherwise my life would be a bit different, and this ending would have been a bit different. Give this one a listen - the audio was fabulous and narrators Mia Hutchinson-Shaw and Bernadette Dunne deliver incredible performances.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio ARC of this book. I was a little nervous about this book when I first started it because it was heavily focused on postpartum; however, I quickly became engrossed in the book. The author did such a fantastic job about describing what it is like to have PPD and how you are not a bad mom if you go through this. In addition to this, the old woman was such a delight. I found myself looking forward to her sections.

This was such a beautiful and heart-warming story. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Another great book from this author! I love stories that delve into the challenges of early motherhood and this one certainly doesn't shy away from the tough topics people are all too often afraid to admit or talk about! Told in alternating perspectives from new mother Brynn who is struggling with mom-guilt and undiagnosed post-partum depression and anxiety and her elderly neighbor, Joy who becomes the friend and confidante Brynn didn't know she needed.

I related to so much of this story! It brought back all the struggles of that first year of becoming a new mother. From raw nipples, latching problems, mom-guilt, blow-outs, feeling touched out, adjusting to your new body, not feeling comfortable in your new body or desirable or wanting to engage in intimacy at all. There's also the extra layer of guilt/envy every mom feels watching the seemingly 'perfect' mom's doing it all on social media.

Highly recommended for fans of books like When I ran away by Ilona Bannister or Just like home by Sarah Gailey. We need more books like this one that normalize the hardships and mental health struggles so many women experience as new mothers. The post-partum depression, anxiety and therapy rep in this book were excellent! I also adored the intergenerational friendship between Joy and Brynn and how we got to hear about Joy's heartbreaking journey to motherhood that included so many miscarriages and bouts of loneliness with an often absent husband.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital and audio copies in exchange for my honest review. The audio narration by Mia Hutchinson-Shaw and Bernadette Dunne was very well done and I so enjoyed the To the lighthouse quotes and references sprinkled throughout the book too!