{"product_id":"9780374239329","title":"Labor Day: True Birth Stories by Today's Best Women Writers","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eLabor Day: True Birth Stories by Today's Best Women Writers\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThirty acclaimed writers share their personal birth stories—the extraordinary, the ordinary, the terrifying, the sublime, the profane\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's an elemental, almost animalistic urge—the expectant mother's hunger for birth narratives. Bookstores are filled with month-by-month pregnancy manuals, but the shelves are virtually empty of artful, entertaining, unvarnished accounts of labor and delivery—the stories that new mothers need most.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e     Here is a book that transcends the limits of how-to guides and honors the act of childbirth in the twenty-first century. Eleanor Henderson and Anna Solomon have gathered true birth stories by women who have made self-expression their business, including Cheryl Strayed, Julia Glass, Lauren Groff, Dani Shapiro, and many other luminaries.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e     In \u003ci\u003eLabor Day\u003c\/i\u003e, you'll read about women determined to give birth naturally and others begging for epidurals; women who pushed for hours and women whose labors were over practically before they'd started; women giving birth to twins and to ten-pound babies. These women give birth in the hospital, at home, in bathtubs, and, yes, even in the car. Some revel in labor, some fear labor, some feel defeated by labor, some are fulfilled by it—and all are amazed by it. You will laugh, weep, squirm, perhaps groan in recognition, and undoubtedly gasp with surprise. And then you'll call every mother or mother-to-be that you know and say \"You MUST read \u003ci\u003eLabor Day\u003c\/i\u003e.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eContributors: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNuar Alsadir\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmy Brill\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSusan Burton\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSarah Shun-lien Bynum\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLan Samantha Chang\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhoebe Damrosch\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eClaire Dederer\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJennifer Gilmore\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJulia Glass\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eArielle Greenberg\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLauren Groff\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEleanor Henderson\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCristina Henriquez\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmy Herzog\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnn Hood\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSarah Jefferis\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHeidi Julavits\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMary Beth Keane\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMarie Myung-Ok Lee\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEdan Lepucki\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHeidi Pitlor\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJoanna Rakoff\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJane Roper\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDanzy Senna\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDani Shapiro\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnna Solomon\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCheryl Strayed \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSarah A. Strickley\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRachel Jamison Webster\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGina Zucker\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This isn't a how-to book, nor does it present a case for the ‘perfect birth,' which sets it apart from the plethora of childbirth manuals and lends it broader appeal and a very different type of resonance.” —\u003ci\u003eAleksandra Walker, Booklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003ci\u003eLabor Day \u003c\/i\u003ebelongs on the nightstand next to \u003ci\u003eWhat to Expect When You're Expecting\u003c\/i\u003e. It's a must-have book for mothers, mothers-to-be, and anyone who cares about what birth looks like today.” —\u003ci\u003eMolly Ringwald, Actress, Singer, and author of When It Happens to You\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“One of the most important preparations for labor is reading actual stories from actual women in labor. \u003ci\u003eLabor Day \u003c\/i\u003eprovides a tremendously varied, honest, and beautiful set of stories to learn from and grow with, no matter where you are in your parenting journey.” —\u003ci\u003eMayim Bialik, Ph.D., Actress, Neuroscientist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Pregnancy made my body ravenous for food and my brain ravenous for stories like this, stories of how other women had crossed the great divide. In delivery rooms, in the backseats of cars, and at home, these women tell their birth stories so clearly that they must have had stenographers present on the scene. I loved reading this book with my baby asleep in the next room, and will give it to every pregnant woman I know from here on out, forever.” —\u003ci\u003eEmma Straub, author of Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I read \u003ci\u003eLabor Day \u003c\/i\u003ethe way I ate my first meal after giving birth: I knew I loved labor stories, but I didn't know I was absolutely starving for them. Ravenous. And they satisfied me; they filled me with wonder and tears and quite a few laugh-out-loud guffaws. And mostly with gratitude that real women shared their real experiences so that all of us can re-experience the wild joy and terror and beauty of giving birth.” —\u003ci\u003eElizabeth Lesser, co-founder of Omega Institute and author of Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow and The Seeker's Guide: Making Your Life a Spiritual Adventure\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003ci\u003eLabor Day\u003c\/i\u003e is such a gift. I've probably read or heard hundreds of birth stories, but once I picked up \u003ci\u003eLabor Day\u003c\/i\u003e, I could not put it down. Birth stories, especially those told by mothers who are also writers, are riveting. From Heidi Julavits reflecting on the value of a doula by reminding us that ‘Pain, when explained, can be much less painful' to Eleanor Henderson's depiction of being ‘dazzled by happiness,' this collection beautifully covers a huge range of birth experiences. Each fascinating detail, from the banal to the exalted, gives a glimpse of just what can happen when a baby is born.” —\u003ci\u003eCatherine Taylor, author of Giving Birth: A Journey into the World of Mothers and Midwives\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9780374239329\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Farrar, Straus and Giroux","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":40595920027854,"sku":"9780374239329","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_b305a769-fe8f-4525-9338-90a6da409dce.jpg?v=1637844406","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9780374239329","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}