The pressures of motherhood.
Emily writes of the pressures of motherhood, "failed" pregnancy, "successful" pregnancy, feelings of inadequacy as a woman in the workforce, and so many other struggles faced by women. I wish I had read this before having my children. As I was reading, I was remembering some of the things my friends and I faced as young parents.

I agree with and wonder why so many people see deafness as something to be grieved. I have deaf friends who say they would never want to hear and deal with the issues hearing people have. I applaud Emily for sharing her story and her use of all the medical facts and interesting information she did.

I was given the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Stunning and innovatively structured memoir. The narrative follows a mother through a tumultuous pregnancy and difficult motherhood; as the author discusses her own experiences, she introduces the history of technologies, social constructs, normative labels, philosophy, literature, and people (including historical figures) that have inadvertently shaped her life and her outlook while she undergoes her journey. I LOVE this format. Not only are many of the facts fascinating, but Bloom also introduces them in a way that reminds readers of the commonalities of the human experience. We lift many inventors, thinkers, and writers onto pedestals; in doing so, we forget that their personal and familial struggles are similar to ours; we are all just an interconnected web of people that influence each other in minor but inevitably consequential ways. I greatly appreciate the diversity in topics and people that Bloom did deep dives on--not everything in our lives can be traced back to a bearded man in a lab; the single mothers and unrespected artists have changed worlds too.

Bloom's narrative is made more compelling and arguably more colorful due to her inclusion of the aforementioned historical facts. Her prose is beautiful, but if it was solely focused on her and her daughter, I can see how the writing could quickly become stale. Instead, Bloom reminds us that even in the most private of relationships, there are millions of people (spanning many miles and many generations) who also have a hand in our happiness.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC. All thoughts were my own. I'm looking forward to buying myself a physical copy on April 16th so I can highlight and notate and truly do this book justice.

A lovely memoir and commentary on motherhood. Definitely a must read, wonderful and intriguing. I also really love the cover as well.