Thank you so much to Counterpoint Press for providing my free copy – all opinions are my own.
Book Description:
What if labor does not end with pregnancy but continues into a mother’s postpartum life? How can the fiercest love for your child and the deepest wells of grief coexist in the same moment? How has society neglected honest conversation around the significant physical changes new mothers experience? Could real healing occur if generations of women were fluent in the language of their bodies?
Molly Caro May grapples with these questions as she undergoes several unexpected health issues―pelvic-floor dysfunction, incontinence, hormonal imbalance―after the birth of her first child, Eula. While she and her husband navigate the ups and downs of new parenthood, May moves between shock, sadness, and anger over her body’s betrayal. She finally identifies the root of her struggle as premenstrual dysphoric disorder and so begins her exploration of what she calls female rage. The process leads May to an overdue conversation with her body in an attempt to balance the physical changes she experiences with the emotional landscape opening up before her.
“Little do I know this moment is the middle of the beginning of a two year quest for my health, a crawl across the parched desert where I will question everything I once knew about my body, about it means to heal, about the woman-mother I so wanted to become. I’m about to lose my whole sense of self.”
My Review:
I found this book an extremely personal, necessary, and important work that all women should read. I am not a mother but I was still able to identify and empathize with much of what was written. I have very close friends who are moms that have struggled in similar ways. Although I am not a mom, and even though I can’t possibly identify with everything, the contents of this book gave me a better understanding of how pregnancy and motherhood affects women. I was completely captivated and fascinated throughout the entire read and I found myself highlighting passages and taking notes throughout.
May’s writing is honest, descriptive, thought-provoking, and beautiful. A BODY FULL OF STARS covers a wide range of topics from pregnancy, to motherhood, to postpartum, to marriage, to body image, to rage. It’s gorgeously done, very relevant, and should not be left out of the conversation. Highly recommended!
I rate this thought-provoking book 4 / 5 stars!
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