This book really made me think and it changed my point of view when it comes to birthdays. This book does cover death so that may be a trigger warning for some people.

Sin-ned loses his mother, Margaret Elizabeth Edwards, on his birthday. What a tragedy! He is shell-shocked and stunned. He is in a cemetery instead of a church on his special day.

He is in complete denial—to accept that his mother is no longer a breathing and living being; instead, she is just a sleeping corpse, ready to be buried six feet deep down the ground within a few hours, dumped in an eight-foot-long casket.

Once cremated and final service done and family and friends leave him, Sin-ned is now an orphan; the only woman who loved him unconditionally is no longer with him.

As he stands alone, he finally realises that it is his birthday today, which he has completely forgotten.

After a few days, Sin-ned then has a new insight with better clarity when he thinks differently and understands that it is indeed his mother’s birthday—the day she gave birth to him—while it was his ‘born’ day.

There arises the ultimate question: Whose birthday is it? Whom should we be celebrating on this day? Thus, he gives a new meaning to birthday and who actually deserves to celebrate the day.

Even though Sin-ned felt lost in his grief and was seeing Mrs Lawrence, his therapist, upon his uncle Dickey’s advice, he was pretty sure and convinced that he is sane enough to give a new meaning to 'birthdays'—that each woman has to be celebrated after nine months of pregnancy culminating in the beautiful event of childbirth.

Sin-ned and Lawrence had a heart-to-heart talk about his intention and new way of adding significance to birthdays as such, while the person here is always a mother, and he also announced it to be Matressa Day, taken from the medical term 'matrescence', meaning the process of becoming a mother.

This story takes a new dimension on a simple topic and approaches it with a critical, philosophical, and practical outlook, thereby giving the reader the opportunity to absorb the essence of the idea and see their birthday in a different light going forward.

This wasn't quite what I was expecting from this book but I do kind of see where the author's coming from. I fully agree with the idea that women should be appreciated for what they do and it not just be taken for granted. I do think that recently it has seemed to improve though, of course not every year on the birthday, but at the time of birth at least, by husbands and friends around them.
Through most of the book I was thinking that what he was looking for was basically covered in Mother's Day when the mothers are appreciated for everything they've done. I personally feel like a birthday isn't necessarily a celebration of the fact that you were birthed, but more a way to celebrate the fact that you've survived another year and everything you've achieved since your last birthday. And a good way to remember how old you are too. I do get where he was coming from though, and there's nothing wrong with appreciating mothers a bit more.

Whose Birthday Is It? by Dennis Lee Edwards

Very interesting content!

The story is about the main character bringing out the idea of "Birthday". He has a strong confusion of birthday because his mother passed away on the day of his birthday. Also he does not understand why people have no memory of their birth day but still they have to celebrate it, instead of their mother who experienced the whole pregnancy and labouring process to celebrate it. The main character also has the difficulty in finding a friend who understands his mind.

As a reader, I have never thought about this concept which. i am glad that the author brings it out. Such an inspirational read!

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for my copy.

Pub date: Oct 29, 2023

While I understand the message that the author wanted to convey, a way to honor his mother for the life that she had given him, this story was written from the perspective of someone who's never once looked past their own nose to understand the experience of anyone around them, particularly women. Yes, we are all aware that a person's BIRTHday, is the day that their mother gives birth to them, and women and mothers have been underappreciated in westernized societies for as far back as we remember. But the preachy tone and lack of nuance presented by Sin-nad is mind-boggling that a grown man could go through his life, have children of his own and still not stop for a single moment to think about what women truly go through is beyond me. It really is self-indulgent men like this who are the cause of such ignorance, and the way he speaks about his sister 'not understanding the mission' is beyond insulting because EVERY WOMAN UNDERSTANDS this basic human concept. It is MOTHER's who go through trauma and pain to give life to a child, hence creating their birthday, but to act as if it's something that is unrecognized is juvenile at best and misogynistic at worst. The reason we celebrate our children's on their birthday is to celebrate the end of a grueling fight, mothers do not want recognition because the recognition and 'prize' IS THEIR CHILD. I applaud the author for honoring his mother, but feel that he's missed the point entirely, mothers are not asking to be celebrated, only appreciated as human beings, empathized with as women, and loved as life-givers.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital copy of Whose Birthday Is It? By Dennis Lee Edward’s. This novella towards who should be celebrating ones “birthday” was eye opening as we always celebrate the child hence it is their “birthday” however the writer believes we all should be celebrating the mother since she is the real reason behind one having a birthday. Edward’s also brings forward how much a mother gives and loses within herself in the 9months prior to bringing a child into the world.

As a mother this felt wholesome to read and I personally felt seen. However I would never want to be celebrated on my child’s birthday. In my opinion it is their day that they came into the world and made a difference in multiple peoples lives. I think Mother’s Day celebrates the mother enough for all that she does.

I really like the ideas behind this book. I have felt similarly for many years. While I love celebrating my children on their birthdays, it is definitely a time to recognize the mother and the journey she went through to bring the child to life. I love the idea of the greeting cards at the end of the book as a way to recognize those women in our lives. The book is well written, entertaining, and thought-provoking.